Wimbledon 2026 will be remembered as the tournament where the favourites fell. In a single day, six seeded players were eliminated in the first round, a toll without precedent in recent Grand Slam history.
On the men's side, Alexander Zverev, the second seed and reigning Roland Garros champion, was knocked out by Belgian Alexander Blockx. The world number two, crowned in Paris barely three weeks ago, failed to find his footing on the London grass. A brutal setback for a player hoping to string together Grand Slam titles.
Ben Shelton, the fourth seed and recent BOSS Open champion on grass in Stuttgart, also went down against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen. Alex de Minaur, the fifth seed, fell to Román Andrés Burruchaga. Taylor Fritz, seeded sixth, lost to Serbian lucky loser Dušan Lajović. Four of the top six men's seeds wiped out in one afternoon.
The women's draw experienced an earthquake of comparable magnitude. Iga Świątek, the defending champion and third seed, was stunned by American Taylor Townsend. The Pole, who had struck a cautious tone at her pre-tournament press conference, could not defend her crown beyond the first hurdle.
Elena Rybakina, the world number one and second seed, met the same fate against France's Loïs Boisson. The Kazakh, many pundits' pick for the title, leaves the All England Club before finding her rhythm.
This historic day is a reminder that grass remains the most unpredictable surface on tour. Fast conditions, low bounce and the exceptional heat hitting London turned the first round into a battlefield. Only Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Félix Auger-Aliassime survived among the top men's seeds.
