Five Australian men will open their 2023 Wimbledon campaigns tonight – with a further fifteen men and women to follow over the coming fortnight.
Aussies in Singles Qualifying:
Men’s Qualifying: (5) – Commencing Monday June 26
[2] Thanasi Kokkinakis
[7] James Duckworth
[9] Rinky Hijikata
Marc Polmans
Alex Bolt (Protected ranking)
Dane Sweeny
Women’s Qualifying: (6) – Commencing Tuesday June 27
Kimberly Birrell
Jaimee Fourlis
Priscilla Hon
Olivia Gadecki
Storm Hunter
Arina Rodionova
Many of those listed will arrive in Roehampton (where qualifying is held) with strong form lines and positive expectations ahead of the 2023 grass court major.
Men – Should Qualify: Kokkinakis, Hijikata
Thanasi Kokkinakis – after an equal best run at Roland Garros – is debatably the best player in men’s qualifying and should reach the main draw, while Rinky Hijikata arrives in London after a maiden ATP semi-final and will look to go one better than his final round loss in last year’s Wimbledon qualifying.
Fellow Aussies Alex Bolt (playing Hijikata in R1) and Marc Polmans (could play Kokkinakis in R3) will require upsets to progress – while James Duckworth would be confident but may face tough competition from Canadian Gabriel Diallo in round three.
Women – Draw announced tonight:
Prior to the draw release, Jaimee Fourlis and Kim Birrell appear the most likely Aussie women to reach week one action – both recording WTA-level grass court victories in Wimbledon lead-up events. Storm Hunter has not played a singles match since her second-round berth in Paris but will remain a dark-horse, whilst Hon, Gadecki, and Rodionova will need three hard-fought wins to ensure their place at the All England Club.
A further nine Australians have earnt a direct place in the main draw – many of which have also shown promise on the grass, ahead of round one starting next week.
Men’s Main Draw: (8) – Commencing Monday July 3
[15] Alex de Minaur
[31] Nick Kyrgios
Max Purcell
Chris O’Connell
Jordan Thompson
Jason Kubler
Aleks Vukic
Alexei Popyrin
Women’s Main Draw: (1) – Commencing Monday July 3
Daria Saville (Protected ranking)
While Nick Kyrgios has led the Australian male expectations at Wimbledon in recent years, the current form of Alex de Minaur may have him as our best hope in London.
The ‘Demon’ – who reached his first ATP 500 final on grass last week after straight set victories over Holger Rune and Andy Murray – will look to replicate and better his fourth round Wimbledon run in 2022, where he fell in a super tiebreak after leading Cristian Garin two sets to love.
“The positive for the week has been my mentality, my mindset, how calm I have been on the court and how I have backed myself at every stage. When I’m in that kind of mindset and attitude, I can beat anyone,” de Minaur said of his final-run last week in Queens.
But despite playing one match in 2023 – and struggling physically in a 7-5, 6-3 loss Yibing Wu – Nick Kyrgios remains a top-10 favourite for the Wimbledon title, and one of very few who ‘could’ beat Novak Djokovic.
Beyond the two seeded Australians, Max Purcell’s brilliant 2023 season has earned him a direct entry to Wimbledon for the first time, and barring an unfavourable draw, the 25-year-old should be in line for a maiden first round win.
Jason Kubler may be more content than any other Aussie to be back at Wimbledon, after reaching the second week in 2022 but receiving no ranking points.
Kubler is coming off an ATP Challenger title in Ilkey and will play in Mallorca this week as final preparation for the 2023 Championships.
After making his top 100 debut last month, Aleks Vukic will compete in his first Wimbledon main draw – and can be confident, despite likely entering his first-round matchup as the underdog.
Chris O’Connell will also seek his first Wimbledon victory, while Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson can look to enjoy success in their fourth and seventh main draw campaigns, respectively.
On the women’s side, Daria Saville will return to Grand Slam level for the first time in nine months and will be an unseeded but dangerous first round opponent in the women’s draw.
Saville competed for the first time since ACL surgery in Birmingham last week, importantly playing six sets in qualifying and building her match fitness ahead of Wimbledon.