On Sunday afternoon (June 29), the day Wimbledon 2026 kicks off, there are 21 British tennis players participating in the official round of men's and women's singles events. But at sunset on Monday (local time), there are only 9 people left.
Despite the bright sunshine and warm weather at SW19, the seemingly ideal start of the tournament quickly turned into a nightmare. The worst day for British tennis since the beginning of the 21st century.
According to the schedule, there were 12 host country players competing on the first day of the third Grand Slam of the year, but 1 person could not play. Emma Raducanu withdrew late Sunday night due to injury.
Among the remaining players, 3 players were eliminated right before lunchtime. Things then got worse and worse. At 2:30 PM, the organizers announced Jack Draper would follow in Raducanu's footsteps. The reason was a recurrence of a hand injury.
That information came right when Harriet Dart was stuck in a fierce 3-set battle with Jelena Ostapenko. When Ostapenko was clumsy in her service games and made up to 13 double faults, that was supposed to be the turning point of the match, but in the end, Dart was disappointed when she left the court with a scarf covering her head.
She joined the list of those who had to leave All England Club early along with the wildcard players: Mika Stojsavljevic, Felix Gill, Alicia Dudeney and Max Basing.
The domino effect continued when 2 teenage tennis players Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman lost almost at the same time, to Daria Kasatkina and 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Hope is placed on the shoulders of UK No. 1 player Cameron Norrie, who is often the last name left in Grand Slam tournaments. The 30-year-old player, seeded No. 26, often plays his best tennis at home.
However, he suffered the earliest defeat at Wimbledon since 2018 against the talented player of the university system Michael Zheng, after 5 breathtaking sets.
The mass escape continued when the player passed the qualifying round Oliver Tarvet, although he saved 3 match points against 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech, in the end still had to give up after 4 sets.
Fran Jones then lost to Diane Parry to close a sad record-breaking day. Even the number of defeats could have been worse if Jack Pinnington Jones' match with Brandon Nakashima had not been postponed due to lack of light when the British player was 2 sets behind.
It is impossible to blame the efforts of the players on the court, or the meaning from the enthusiastic cheers of the home fans for them. Norrie shared after the match: "I fought my best. I feel a desire, a craving for victory, that's what matters. It's just difficult to fight point by point and then you're the loser. But that's sports".
Dart dismissed the opinion that British tennis players are under greater pressure of expectations. She said: "It's not just because you are an English tennis player playing here. I think every tennis player has pressure, no matter what the situation. And no matter how many times you go through it, everyone will feel pressure. The problem is just how people cope with it, and some people handle it better than others.
However, after 2 withdrawals due to injuries of big stars and a series of defeats on the first day - British players only won 5 out of a total of 29 sets played - there was nothing to be happy about.
Experts in the foggy country call this a "disastrous Monday" and it reveals the problems of the British Tennis Association (LTA).
