Sinner, Sabalenka lead Wimbledon as record prize money rises

Wimbledon opens with more than a record purse on the line. Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, and Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s top seed, arrive at the All England Club in SW19 carrying the heaviest expectations of the first week, with both set for Centre Court on Monday, 29 June 2026.

The Championships run from 29 June to 12 July, and the All England Lawn Tennis Club has set the total prize-money fund at £64.2 million, the richest in Wimbledon history. The men’s and women’s singles champions will each receive £3.6 million, a financial reward that matches the competitive stakes for the tournament’s biggest names.

Sinner opens against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic at 1:30 p.m. on Centre Court, but the sharper test is whether his body and timing hold up on grass after a shortened build-up. He skipped the Wimbledon warm-up events after cramping in his French Open loss, where a near-winning position in the second round unraveled in the heat. Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Queen’s Club and Wimbledon because of a wrist injury removes the most obvious obstacle on Sinner’s side of the draw, but Novak Djokovic sits in Sinner’s half, leaving open the possibility of a semifinal collision if both men advance.

Sabalenka faces Teodora Kostovic in the second Centre Court match, and her opening round carries a different kind of pressure. She has been world No. 1 since late 2024, already owns three singles titles in 2026 from Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami, and has compiled a 33-5 record this season. Even so, the Belarusian has only one Grand Slam title in the past 18 months, and her French Open run ended badly when she dropped the final 10 games against Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic begins against Wu Yibing on Centre Court with a simpler mission and a more historic one. Wimbledon remains his best chance to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title, and his place in Sinner’s half means the tournament could quickly move from opening-day ceremony to a direct examination of whether the sport’s defining figures can withstand the weight of expectation.