Wimbledon 2025 begins on Monday, June 30, and a tennis fan can expect pure chaos in the first few days. There are loads of matches going on, and surprising outcomes are nearly assured. All of it will be entertaining.
It is, of course, impossible to predict who will win each match, but it is easier to project which matches might be the most interesting. Below, we are making some relatively safe assumptions about matches that could take place in the second and third rounds, as well as a few first-round dramas.
Some players we don't have listed are Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka. Fans are going to watch those matches no matter the matchups. But the following seven could be instant classics.
7 matches you will not want to miss in the early rounds of Wimbledon 2025
Taylor Fritz (5) versus Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (first round)
Fritz might have gotten the worst first-round draw of any seeded player. Mpetshi Perricard has a game perfectly made for grass courts as he has the biggest serve on the ATP tour, and can volley well. He has not yet learned the touch he needs to be great, but he might be great specifically on grass.
This also could be the shortest five-set match ever if it goes that long. Fritz has a dynamic serve, too, of course. The two players rank No. 1 and No. 2 on the ATP's serve rankings.
Jenson Brooksby versus Tallon Griekspoor (first round)
Both of these players warmed up for making finals in their respective grass-court tournaments days before Wimbledon began. Griekspoor won in Mallorca, but seemed exhausted after his straight-set victory. That doesn't bode well for the grass-court major when a men's player must win three sets to take the match.
Brooksby's loss to Fritz was expected, but his appearance in the final wasn't. Maybe he learned a few things about winning on grass.
Ugo Humbert versus Gael Monfils (first round)
Humbert seemingly was going to be the first truly great French player in a while, but he is now 26 years old and nowhere near the success of his contemporaries, such as Alexander Zverev, have been. He still has the game to make a run at Wimbledon, though.
A deep run by Monfils would be special. He is nearing the end of his career, but is still one of the more entertaining players on tour. The hope is that he gets by Humbert, simply so tennis fans can watch more of Monfils.
Alexander Bublik versus Jack Draper (4) (third round)
Draper is going to have the crowd firmly behind him, of course, but Bublik will find a way to entertain. He has also shown over the last month that he can be a dangerous player against anyone. He defeated Jannik Sinner on the grass in Halle in June.
Either player is capable of winning in straight sets, though Draper should be the favorite, but this could be the most fun match to watch of the entire tournament if both reach the third round.
Emma Raducanu versus Marketa Vondrousova (second round)
As with Draper, the home crowd will be heavily in support of Raducanu, but does she have the skill set to defeat an in-form Vondrousova? The Czech won the event two years ago, and Raducanu's best result is reaching the fourth round in 2021 and 2024. The Brit has a career record of 11-7 on grass.
Vondrousova has had an odd Wimbledon career. She won the event in 2023, but she lost in the first round in four of the seven years she has played in London. She is fresh off a victory on the grass-court Berlin Open, though.
Paula Badosa (9) versus Katie Boulter (first round)
Badosa keeps hanging around the top 10 even after struggling for much of the previous two years, especially after suffering crippling back pain. She is still a tough competitor who usually overachieves.
The surprising part might be that Boulter, while not having anywhere near the career success that Badosa has had, is the better player on grass courts. She has won 64 percent of her grass-court matches and has two titles on the surface. Badosa has zero.
Jasmine Paolini (4) versus Linda Noskova (third round)
Paolini is the latest player to have a mid-career ascendance. After never making it past the second round in any Grand Slam event in her first seven years on the WTA tour, the 29-year-old Italian reached two finals in 2024 (the French Open and Wimbledon) and has won two Masters 1000 tournaments in the last two years.
What makes Noskova dangerous is that she comes from the Czech Republic, a country that has produced the last two ladies' Wimbledon champions, and the 20-year-old has a game ready-made for grass. If she reaches and then gets past Paolini, she could make a run for the title.