The first day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships is here, and we are in for a treat across all courts. The weather is expected to be glorious all day, so we are anticipating a full day of action with Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic all in action.
The mood around the All England Club isn't entirely positive, though, which is disappointing. Emma Raducanu, arguably the best British hopeful, has pulled out of the tournament at the eleventh hour with a stress fracture.
Ahead of play getting underway, here are our Wimbledon day 1 betting tips.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Teodora Kostovic – Over 2.5 sets (4/1)
This may seem like a rogue shout to start the Championships, but having watched Sabalenka in Berlin last week, 1/6 on her to win this match in straight sets feels off. Although she came through her second round match against Nikola Bartunkova (ranked 48 in the world), she had to come from 2-6, 0-4 down and would have lost had the 20-year-old held herself together better.
In the following round, she fell in three sets to Jessica Pegula, losing 6-0 in the decider. Those two matches, and a win over Ekaterina Alexandrova, are her only experiences on the grass since last year's championships.
As for her opponent, Kostovic was brilliant during Wimbledon qualifying, dropping just one set on her way to qualification to the main draw. At just 19, she has nothing to lose here and could catch Sabalenka off guard early. I'm not saying this bet is a banker by any means, but there is certainly value in it.
Zeynep Sonmaz to beat Ann Li (4/6)
Ann Li may be ranked 22 places higher than Ann Li in the WTA rankings, but Sonmaz is a stronger grass court player. The Turkish world number 51 has played three grass tournaments in the build-up to Wimbledon, winning nine matches along the way.
Ann Li, on the other hand, has played in two grass tournaments this year and has won just two matches, both against players ranked outside the world's top 70.
Neither of these two players are particulalry big servers, which could mean we see plenty of breaks, but Sonmaz's grass court prowess should see her through.
Arthur Rinderknech vs Oliver Tarvert – Over 1.5 tie breaks (5/2)
Whenever Arthur Rinderknech takes to the court, you should expect tie breaks. Dubbed a ‘serve bot' by many, the Frenchman should not drop too many points on serve, but his returning ability leaves a lot to be desired.
He has played just two matches on grass this season, losing both. Across those two matches, he played five sets, and three of those went to tie breaks, illustrating the point above.
Oliver Tarvet performed brilliantly in qualifying, but his greatest weapon is also a serve. If both men play at around 65% first serve, tie breaks are guaranteed here.
Andy is tipster who has been calling Golf tournaments for several years across many different platforms. He has covered all tournaments from the Asian Tour to the Masters. He's also a keen football fan and is an expert on European football.
GambleAware