The 136th edition of the Wimbledon Championships are set to get underway next week.
The draw for the tournament took place on Friday morning and it led to a number of intriguing battles for fans to get excited for.
In the Ladies’ Singles competition, Venus Williams has been dealt a hard opening match against Elina Svitolina while top seed Iga Swiatek will take on Lin Zhu.
For the Men’s Singles, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas will battle it out in their first round match as Andy Murray takes on fellow Brit Ryan Peniston.
And so, ahead of the action, Mail Sport has taken a look at the 10 stars to keep an eye out for during the Championship.
Novak Djokovic (left) won the Men’s Singles at Wimbledon last year, after victory over Nick Kyrgios (right) in the final
Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina clinched the Women’s Singles title in the 2022 Championships
MIRRA ANDREEVA
Sixteen years of age, friends with Andy Murray and still with an innocence of youth, Mirra Andreeva could be one of the stories of Wimbledon this year.
The Russian has a Netflix film crew following her around after producers cottoned on to her charismatic style during the French Open, when she made the second weekend and fell only to Coco Gauff.
If she does well here, she could have the same sort of impact as Gauff four years ago when she burst on to the scene at SW19 aged just 15.
Andreeva has a sister, the 19-year-old Erika, also on the tour, and has exchanged text messages with Murray. She later described the Scotsman as beautiful, to which he replied: ‘imagine how good she will be (at tennis) when she gets her eyes fixed!’
Asked at Roland Garros for her dream in tennis, Andreeva replied: ‘Novak Djokovic has 22 Slams (now 23), so I think I can win 25.’ She has time on her side at least.
16-year-old star Mirra Andreeva could prove to be one of the stories of the summer
The Russian player likes to share pictures of both her training sessions and her travels across the globe on social media
DARIA KASATKINA
One of the biggest talking points at Wimbledon – and in tennis in general – this year is the Ukraine-Russian tensions on the court, with many Ukrainians snubbing handshake requests of players like No 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who has been known to support Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Indeed, it has been very rare to see a Russian or Belarusian athlete speak out against Vladimir Putin or Lukashenko, so Daria Kasatkina breaks a mould in that regard.
Not only has the world No 11 condemned the president of her country, the Russian has come out as gay – and is in a relationship with figure skater Natalia Zabiiako.
‘Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, f*** everyone else,’ said Kasatkina earlier this year, who runs a YouTube vlog with Zabiiako.
Russian No.1 Daria Kasatkina has become one of tennis’ biggest stars both on and off the court
Kasatkina has been dating figure skater and Olympian Natalia Zabiiako (left)
VENUS WILLIAMS
One of the themes of this year is seeing players who have scaled the heights of the sport still hanging around and finding enjoyment from it in the autumn of their career.
Venus Williams, along with Andy Murray and perhaps Stan Wawrinka, falls into that category. Now 43, the five-time winner goes into Wimbledon as a 500-1 shot with the bookies and is ranked world No 554.
This might be her last appearance at SW19 and she has a tricky first-round clash with Elina Svitolina, so if you are at the All England Club and she is on, go to watch one of the greats of this sport.
Four-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams will be hoping to claim the title for a fifth time
The American has been sharing pictures of her travels around Europe in recent weeks
ELINA SVITOLINA
Williams’ first-round opponent was one of the stories of the French Open when the Ukrainian made the quarter-final just months after giving birth.
The father of her baby is well-liked French player Gael Monfils and the pair had to sort childcare during Roland Garros as both parents played well.
Svitolina also talks well about the war and is certain to get a good ovation if the first-round match is picked for Centre Court.
Though getting into the tournament through a wildcard, Svitolina is not here just to make up numbers and the 2019 semi-finalist, now ranked No 75, will have eyes on another good fortnight.
Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina will enter the Championships as a wildcard
Svitolina and Gael Monfils had a child in October – whilst both parents were playing in the French Open
SEBASTIAN KORDA
There are a few big families in sport such as the Mannings in NFL or Nevilles in football and netball but no unit has what the Kordas boast – a father, mother, two sisters and brother all at the top level of their sport.
Sebastian Korda, the 6ft 5in American, is ranked 25 in the world and goes into Wimbledon in good form ahead of a potential third-round meeting with Britain’s Cam Norrie.
His sisters, Nelly and Jessica, are well-known golf players on the LPGA Tour and the former has won an Olympic Gold medal and the women’s PGA Championship.
Their father, Petr, won the Australian Open in 1998, made the French Open final in 1992 and was the tennis world No 2 for a short time.
And the mother Regina was also a tennis player, rising to world No 26 and representing the Czechs at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
American star Sebastian Korda stands at the 6ft 5in and is ranked No. 25 in the world
Korda pictured with his two sisters – Jessica (left) and Nelly (right) who are both golfers
NICK KYRGIOS
Nasty Nick, as he is known to some, divided opinion last year with his on-court rants to line judges, umpires and fans – infamously calling one spectator out for ‘having 700 drinks’.
He then had a feisty Saturday-night clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas in which the Greek got incredibly wound up at his opponent’s antics and smashed loose balls in anger.
Kyrgios’ biggest enemy is himself and he seemed to not let his inner demons rule last year during the run to the final – which was aided by Rafa Nadal’s withdrawal ahead of their semi-final.
He starts with a clash against veteran Belgian David Goffin.
Australian star Nick Kyrgios has built a reputation as one of the sport’s biggest entertainers
Kyrgios – pictured with his partner Costeen Hatzi – was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year
FRANCES TIAFOE
THE American once said there should be a movie made of his life – and it’s hard to disagree. Frances Tiafoe was born into a family of west African immigrants and escaped the disadvantages of early years to now be in the top 10.
Frances and his twin brother Franklin slept on the floor of a tennis centre in Maryland, where they grew up with their father who was a janitor there.
It was perhaps luck that their father worked there, and Tiafoe used to use discarded rackets and hit the ball against a wall, while watching other players all day long.
Now he comes into Wimbledon as one of the favourites to go deep, though he has never been past a semi-final at a Grand Slam.
American star Frances Tiafoe has had a sensational rise to the top of the tennis world
The 25-year-old pictured with NBA legend and LA Lakers star Lebron James (right)
DANIIL MEDVEDEV
The highest-profile Russian on the tour, Daniil Medvedev was one of those to feel the pain as he was banned from playing Wimbledon last year due to his nationality.
The one-time Grand Slam winner has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon and fell to a disappointing first-round shock at Roland Garros last month.
He will play Brit Arthur Fery in the first round.
His US Open win came on the same day as his wedding anniversary and he joked: ‘If I lose, I have no time to find a present. So I have to win this match.’
Medvedev also got out of compulsory military service for the Russian army due to the fact he was born prematurely.
It will be interesting to see how he bounces back after a poor year at the Slams.
Daniil Medvedev has been at the heart of debates in the past year over the inclusion of Russian athletes within the sport
The one-time Grand Slam winner has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon
GEORGE LOFFHAGEN
One of the more fascinating Brits, George Loffhagen got a wildcard and will face world No 6 Holger Rune in an exciting first-round clash which could be on a show court.
Loffhagen’s father is a lawyer that worked with the controversial LIV Golf and the £55,000 he will pocket for a first-round participation will more than double any of his earnings from tennis so far.
The youngster from Ealing began this year ranked No 983 but a positive few months on the Futures level of the tour has seen him rise to No 367 and Loffhagen, who has trained with Rafa Nadal, is testament to not giving up on tennis dreams.
George Loffhagen is hoping to shock the Wimbledon crowds when he takes to the court
