Who will triumph at Wimbledon 2023 in both the men’s and women’s tournaments?
Wimbledon is the ultimate launchpad for a tennis player’s career. One fine run through the competition could be the springboard to a bright future, but that going all the way takes a special kind of player.
To reach the final is a mega achievement, but to win the final, given the landscape of a giant-heavy men’s game and a wildly unpredictable women’s game over the last decade or so, has been near-impossible for any given player.
Saying that, there are a handful of contenders primed and raring to go ahead of the competition with lofty ambitions and talent to match.
RadioTimes.com brings you our final predictions for Wimbledon 2023, including who we think will win the men’s and women’s singles tournaments.
Wimbledon 2023 predictions
Who will win Wimbledon 2023? Men’s singles
Novak Djokovic enters the tournament as reigning champion and undisputed king of grass going into this one. Many have tried to topple him on the surface, few have succeeded.
He has been dragged into a tussle for top spot in the ATP Rankings after missing the US leg – and the points on offer – of the ATP Tour calendar in 2023. Djokovic will be keen to rack up a healthy lead once again with victory here.
Of course, reigning World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is a firm contender for this one despite his lack of experience on grass. It’s easy to forget he has only played three tournaments on this surface in his professional career – Wimbledon 2021, 2022 and this year’s Queen’s Championship. He triumphed at Queen’s and will be a real threat at SW19.
Prediction: Novak Djokovic
Who will win Wimbledon 2023? Women’s singles
Elena Rybakina is the reigning champion heading into the women’s singles event at Wimbledon in 2023. She has enjoyed an impressive surge up through the WTA Rankings, from the outer-seeded positions between 2019-2022 up to the very top pack in 2023. She was forced to withdraw from Eastbourne due to illness last week, but her form is exemplary, and she will push all the way to defend her title.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek is the obvious pick for champion, despite being wrestled closer to the chasing pack below her in the rankings. She remains an impressive contender on grass, though it is not her specialty. Since the Tour resumed following COVID, Rybakina is 16-6 (win-loss) on grass compared to Swiatek’s 9-4 record.
Prediction: Elena Rybakina
For more Wimbledon features, check out: Wimbledon FAQs, facts and figures | Who has won Wimbledon the most times? | How does Wimbledon Hawk-Eye work?
Dark horses at Wimbledon 2023?
Anyone beyond Alcaraz or Djokovic in the men’s tournament, and Swiatek, Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s tournament has to be considered a dark horse for the title given the strength at the top.
In the men’s game, expect to see Andrey Rublev go well at SW19. He has reached the final of the Halle Open, a pre-Wimbledon tournament, twice in the last three editions and will be determined to perform this year after being banned from participating by the All England Club in 2022 due to his Russian nationality.
The women’s game is particularly unpredictable beyond the top order. A number of players will consider themselves among the outliers to go far this year, with Coco Gauff showing some promise on the surface at Eastbourne.
She was ultimately downed by compatriot Madison Keys in the semi-finals, but she won the first three matches of the tournament without conceding four games in a set, against Bernarda Pera, Jodie Burrage and Jessica Pegula.
How will British players fare at Wimbledon 2023?
Cam Norrie and Dan Evans are the only seeded British players going into this year’s Wimbledon. Evans has really struggled to find rhythm in 2023 with just one victory in his last seven outings, suffering a few humbling defeats in that spell.
Norrie won the Rio Open in February after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final but hasn’t lit up the Tour since then. He has punched in solid displays without threatening to make an upward surge through the rankings.
Andy Murray just missed out on a seeded place and has been handed a nightmare draw that could see him face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, before a run of Ben Shelton, Cam Norrie, Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic should all the favoured players win all of their matches.
Katie Boulter enters as British women’s No.1. The World No.88 won the Nottingham Open in June, before crashing out in the first rounds of the Birmingham Classic and Eastbourne International.
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