Wimbledon draw: Krejcikova opens vs. Eala; Vondrousova in Sabalenka's path

Reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova View Profile will open her title defense next Tuesday against 2025 breakout star Alexandra Eala View Profile on Centre Court -- one of several first-round clashes to circle in the draw for the 2025 Championships.
Krejcikova missed the first five months of 2025 with a back injury and had to withdraw from this week's Eastbourne quarterfinals citing a thigh injury. Eala captured the tennis world's attention in March by defeating three Grand Slam champions -- Jelena Ostapenko View Profile , Madison Keys View Profile and Iga Swiatek View Profile -- to reach the Miami semifinals. The 20-year-old Filipina has reached her first grass-court final this week in Eastbourne.
Elsewhere, No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka View Profile 's section features a host of potential obstacles as she bids to progress beyond the semifinals for the first time. The three-time major winner opens against fast-rising qualifier Carson Branstine View Profile , and potential third-round opponents include 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova View Profile , Nottingham titlist McCartney Kessler and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu View Profile .
No. 2 seed Coco Gauff View Profile will start against the big-hitting Nottingham finalist Dayana Yastremska View Profile , with former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka View Profile potentially awaiting in the second round and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin View Profile projected in the third round. Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, playing the final Championships of her career, will face No. 10 seed and 2024 quarterfinalist Emma Navarro View Profile in the first round.
Looking ahead, potentially intriguing second-round matchups include No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula View Profile against Queen's champion and 2022 semifinalist Tatjana Maria View Profile , former Roland Garros champion Ostapenko against two-time runner-up Ons Jabeur View Profile and Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen against former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka View Profile .
Projected quarterfinal matchups
[1] Aryna Sabalenka View Profile vs. [6] Madison Keys View Profile
[4] Jasmine Paolini View Profile vs. [5] Zheng Qinwen
[7] Mirra Andreeva View Profile vs. [3] Jessica Pegula View Profile
[8] Iga Swiatek View Profile vs. [2] Coco Gauff View Profile
First quarter
This week in Wimbledon qualifying, Carson Branstine View Profile served notice of her confidence.
"Maybe not everyone knows me, but I think I can beat anyone out there," the Canadian said after defeating Lois Boisson View Profile , her second upset of a No. 1 seed in as many grass-court tournaments this year. The 24-year-old will get a shot at a third against Sabalenka.
Should the World No. 1 survive Branstine -- and, indeed, a guaranteed former Wimbledon quarterfinalist in Round 2, either Marie Bouzkova View Profile or Lulu Sun View Profile -- she'll still have to navigate a section that includes two of this year's grass-court titlists just to reach the fourth round. That includes Vondrousova, who defeated Sabalenka en route to the Berlin title last week. A silver lining is that these dangerous opponents will have to take each other out first: Vondrousova opens against Kessler, and the winner will potentially face Raducanu in the second round. Raducanu herself faces an intriguing start against a British compatriot, 17-year-old wild card Mingge Xu View Profile .
No. 14 seed Elina Svitolina View Profile , a two-time semifinalist, is projected to be Sabalenka's fourth-round opponent.
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Keys opens against the hard-hitting Elena-Gabriela Ruse View Profile , the runner-up in 's-Hertogenbosch two weeks ago. Ruse stretched Keys to a 7-6(1), 2-6, 7-5 scoreline in the Australian Open second round. She is projected to face No. 29 seed Leylah Fernandez View Profile in the third round, should the 2021 US Open finalist get past another teenage British wild card, Hannah Klugman, in the first round. Potential fourth-round opponents include No. 9 seed Paula Badosa View Profile and No. 22 seed Donna Vekic View Profile , a semifinalist last year.
Former Wimbledon semifinalists or better: Aryna Sabalenka View Profile , Marketa Vondrousova View Profile , Elina Svitolina View Profile , Donna Vekic View Profile
First-round matches to watch:
- [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs. [Q] Carson Branstine
- Lulu Sun vs. Marie Bouzkova
- Emma Raducanu vs. [WC] Mingge Xu
- Marketa Vondrousova vs. [32] McCartney Kessler
- [9] Paula Badosa vs. Katie Boulter
- [29] Leylah Fernandez vs. [WC] Hannah Klugman
- Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs. [6] Madison Keys
Second quarter
Last year's finalist, Jasmine Paolini View Profile , has built on the momentum of her 2024 breakthrough this season, most notably claiming the Rome title on home soil last month. The Italian opens against former No. 11 Anastasija Sevastova, the 35-year-old currently making a comeback from both maternity leave and an ACL injury. Sevastova also has prior form on grass: between 2016-18, she reached three consecutive Mallorca finals, claiming the title in 2017.
Two big hitters lie in Paolini's projected path before the quarterfinals: No. 30 seed Linda Noskova View Profile in the third round and No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova View Profile in the fourth. Anisimova was a 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, and reached her first grass-court final at Queen's two weeks ago.
No. 5 seed Zheng lost in the first round last year to eventual quarterfinalist Lulu Sun View Profile , and starts against another potential banana skin this year. Doubles World No. 1 Katerina Siniakova View Profile has beaten Zheng in both of their completed meetings -- both of which have come on grass, at Wimbledon 2023 and Berlin 2024. Should the Chinese player survive Siniakova, she could face Osaka for the fourth time -- if Osaka gets past qualifier Talia Gibson View Profile . Zheng leads her head-to-head against Osaka 2-1, including their only grass-court meeting at Berlin 2024.
No. 12 seed Diana Shnaider View Profile , the 2024 Bad Homburg champion, is Zheng's projected fourth-round opponent. Shnaider's path includes two former Top 5 players, Ostapenko and Jabeur, with serious grass-court credentials but question marks over their form and fitness. Jabeur exited Eastbourne in the first round this week to Maya Joint View Profile , while Ostapenko suffered an ankle injury at the same tournament that forced her to retire against Eala in the second round.
Former Wimbledon semifinalists or better: Jasmine Paolini View Profile , Ons Jabeur View Profile , Jelena Ostapenko View Profile
First-round matches to watch:
- [4] Jasmine Paolini vs. [SR] Anastasija Sevastova
- Yulia Putintseva vs. [13] Amanda Anisimova
- [Q] Diane Parry vs. [Q] Petra Martic
- Sonay Kartal vs. [20] Jelena Ostapenko
- [31] Ashlyn Krueger vs. [WC] Mika Stojsavljevic
- Katerina Siniakova vs. [5] Zheng Qinwen
Third quarter
Watching the 37-year-old mother-of-two Maria slicing her way to the Queen's title was a reminder that old-school finesse can be as effective -- if not more -- on grass than modern-day power. She'll have another shot at a big-name upset if she meets Pegula in the second round, having won both of her previous meetings against the American -- albeit on clay in 2011 and 2016 respectively. Maria will have to defeat Katie Volynets View Profile first, while Pegula opens against Elisabetta Cocciaretto View Profile .
Maria isn't the only mother to watch in this quarter. Kvitova, who announced this week that she will retire from the sport this year, will be appearing at Wimbledon for the last time. Despite having only won one match since returning from maternity leave in February, the Czech will be motivated to go out on a high. The winner of her match against Navarro could be on course to meet either Krejcikova or Eala in the third round.
Meanwhile, former Eastbourne champion Belinda Bencic View Profile 's comeback from maternity leave started superbly, with the Abu Dhabi title in February rocketing the Swiss player back into the Top 100, but was set back by an arm injury ahead of Roland Garros. Bencic is in Pegula's section of the draw, and will start against big-serving Alycia Parks View Profile .
As well as the trio of mothers, the best teenager in the world -- Dubai and Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva View Profile -- is also in the third quarter. The 18-year-old No. 7 seed reached her first Grand Slam fourth round at Wimbledon two years ago, but has won just one match on the surface since. She opens against Mayar Sherif View Profile , and is projected to face either Navarro or Krejcikova in the fourth round.
Another 2007-born player, Iva Jovic View Profile , could be one to watch in the third quarter as well. The 17-year-old American is on an eight-match grass-court winning streak after capturing the Ilkley WTA 125 title and then coming through qualifying. She opens against Suzan Lamens View Profile and could face No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova View Profile in the second round.
Former Wimbledon semifinalists or better: Barbora Krejcikova View Profile , Petra Kvitova, Tatjana Maria View Profile
First-round matches to watch:
- [17] Barbora Krejcikova vs. Alexandra Eala
- [WC] Petra Kvitova vs. [10] Emma Navarro
- [15] Karolina Muchova vs. Wang Xinyu
- Suzan Lamens vs. [Q] Iva Jovic
- Alycia Parks vs. Belinda Bencic
- Katie Volynets vs. Tatjana Maria
Fourth quarter
The last time Gauff faced Yastremska was arguably a turning point in her season. She had not reached a semifinal in the first four months of 2025, and in her opening match in Madrid dropped the first set 6-0 to the Ukrainian. But Gauff clawed back a 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory -- and went on to make three consecutive clay-court finals, culminating in her second major crown at Roland Garros. In the rematch, Yastremska comes in with better form on grass, having made the Nottingham final while Gauff lost her Berlin opener to Wang Xinyu.
Gauff's draw doesn't get any easier. She'll face either Azarenka or in-form qualifier Anastasia Zakharova View Profile in the second round. She's defeated projected third-round opponent Kenin in both of their meetings this year, including a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash in Miami -- but Kenin won their only previous grass-court encounter at Wimbledon 2023. Potential fourth-round opponents include big-serving No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova View Profile , fast-rising 19-year-old Maya Joint View Profile -- who has reached her first grass-court final in Eastbourne this week -- and last year's Eastbourne champion, No. 16 seed Daria Kasatkina View Profile .
Former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek View Profile is in a position she's rather unaccustomed to. Her No. 8 seeding is her lowest in over four years, since she was also seeded No. 8 at Roland Garros 2021. The Pole did not reach a final in over a year, since winning her fifth major title in Paris last year -- but she snapped that drought in Bad Homburg this week to notch the first grass-court final of her career.
After her semifinal exit at Roland Garros to Sabalenka, Swiatek told press that a silver lining was that she would be able to do a proper grass-court pre-season for the first time rather than needing to decompress after a gruelling clay swing. Could Swiatek be a dark horse at Wimbledon? She opens against Polina Kudermetova View Profile , and is projected to face No. 26 seed Marta Kostyuk View Profile in the third round.
All eyes could be on a marquee fourth-round match between Swiatek and No. 11 seed Elena Rybakina View Profile , the 2022 champion. Rybakina -- who led Swiatek 6-1, 2-0 at the same stage of Roland Garros before falling -- starts against Armenian No. 1 Elina Avanesyan View Profile , and is projected to meet No. 23 seed Clara Tauson View Profile in the third round.
Former Wimbledon semifinalists or better: Elena Rybakina View Profile , Victoria Azarenka View Profile
First-round matches to watch:
- Camila Osorio vs. Danielle Collins
- [16] Daria Kasatkina vs. Emiliana Arango
- Maya Joint vs. [19] Liudmila Samsonova
- [28] Sofia Kenin vs. [Q] Taylor Townsend
- Victoria Azarenka vs. [Q] Anastasia Zakharova
- Dayana Yastremska vs. [2] Coco Gauff