We are just a couple of days away from the third Grand Slam of the year and I think the favorites are pretty clear. Carlos Alcaraz forgot how to lose, Jannik Sinner is always the guy to watch and on the ladies side it seems as if Sabalenka and Swiatek both are up to form. But there are some stories brewing on both the men’s and women’s side, and that is exactly where we want to place our focus today – the underdogs to watch for your 2025 Wimbledon tournament.
Bet on Wimbledon at BetUS, where new users can get some free bets with promo code TENNISNERD.
Bet on Wimbledon at 20Bet, where new users can get some free bets with promo code TENNISNERD.
The women – all eyes on Vondrousova?
It would just be wrong to start with anyone else than the 2023 Wimbledon champion and former World No. 6, Marketa Vondrousova. After years of struggling with knee, shoulder and hand injuries, she announced herself back in form with a title at the WTA 500 event in Berlin last week. The only ever unseeded Wimbledon winner on the women’s side seems to have found her grass court shape again and surely is not who you want to see in your draw early on. She still won’t hit you straight off the court but excels with a varied game and touch that is rather not common on the WTA tour. If she can stay healthy and get a decent draw, she really is one of the favorites for the title even.
One more of those women that you don’t want in your early rounds is the Philippine youngster Alexandra Eala, who currently played her way into an Eastbourne semifinal. She already had a fairytale run in Miami this year, but it seems as if the grass court comes very natural to the 20-year-old lefty. With her flat hitting, decent serving and good movement, she could be a similar challenge as Lulu Sun was last year, getting a lot of top-20 players into problems. Speaking of Lulu Sun, the world No. 46 from New Zealand also was seen with decent tennis in Eastbourne and who knows, maybe she will also run it back just in time to defend her points.
Of course, you always have to account for players in Wimbledon that have experience on the grass court, which almost certainly includes the British top players, such as Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter. Both are not really coming off their best year so far but can always shine on their home ground, where most players cannot match the time on court and early exposure to grass as a surface. Especially Raducanu seems to be on the rise and could pose another of the unseeded players that you don’t want to see in your first-round draw.
Other players outside of the top-10 that need to be mentioned for possibly outplaying their seeding include Linda Noskova, who is just into the Bad Homburg semifinal, Clara Tauson, who seems to be only getting better this year and of course Amanda Anisimova, who might just be my underdog to pick for a title run. The 23-year-old American had previously taken some time away from tennis but seems to be back fully motivated, and her tennis fits the grass courts just like a glove.
The men – the Bublik show?
On the men’s side the favorites are a lot firmer in their position, making it hard to see any surprise coming all the way, particularly in a best-of-five setting. But if anyone can, then it has to be Alexander Bublik after his recent surge in form. The Kazakh has not only reached a first ever Slam quarterfinal in Paris but followed it up with beating Jannik Sinner and subsequently winning the title in Halle. Grass is by far his favorite surface, and he will be one to watch for the late rounds, even if he goes in barely seeded. But whoever sees the name Bublik in his first rounds will not be happy with this turn of fate, that is for sure.
And if we are talking about names you don’t want to see – how about Joao Fonseca for a first-round starter? The 18-year-old Brazilian has upset players in the first two Grand Slams already and judging from his match against Fritz in Eastbourne, he doesn’t take much time to adapt to grass, neither. Quite similarly to Eala, he might just not care much about the outcome and just have a good time on court, resulting in a very dangerous early round opponent for most players. His laser-beam forehand and good touch just make it even harder for players to account for all strengths that Fonseca brings to the court.
A man to watch, especially after his Queens run, is young Czech Jiri Lehecka (image on top). After suffering a stress fracture in his back in Madrid last year, it seemed hard for him to get back to where he was, including a classic Sinner beatdown recently in Paris. But on grass, his big serve pays dividends, and he can really build his game from there. He even got players like Alcaraz into trouble and will play from the 25th seed most likely, giving him at least an easier start than most on the field. He could be one of the guys to watch for a second-week run, where he can then possibly outplay his seeding.
Watch the heavy servers
As always, the grass courts favor heavy servers and there quite plenty of those in the men’s field. Italian Matteo Berrettini will be back from his abdominal strain and of course, being a former finalist, you have to take him into account. Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard seems to have lost some of his momentum, but a 2,03m serve bot is not the ideal first-round matchup for anyone. But the man that might make people sweat the most could be Hubert Hurkacz, who has tumbled from the seedings but still is a former top-10 player with maybe the best serve on tour and an incredible touch at the net. If the Polish standout can find some rhythm back on groundstrokes, he will be one to watch at SW19.
Finally, there are some players outside of the top-10 that still deserve to be mentioned. Anyone of the young Canadians between Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime and Diallo is a threat on any day, Tomas Machac seems to be all the way back now and more dangerous than ever and Alexei Popyrin is a nightmare on grass, too. Ugo Humbert seems to be getting into shape right before Wimbledon, Jakub Mensik will be a problem for most with his serve and finally let’s mention Corentin Moutet, who will have some tricks up his sleeve for the grass Slam.
Is there anyone missing in your eyes here? Who is your underdog favorite to go deep in this year’s Wimbledon singles?
