Wimbledon is back today - here are nine storylines to get you up to speed

Wimbledon is back, Serena Williams is back, Sir Andy Murray was supposed to be back, Novak Djokovic is still playing, Roger Federer isn’t, and now Emma Raducanu won’t be appearing either.

So to help you get out of that World Cup hole and brush up on your tennis knowledge, here are the stories to look out for from SW19.

“I had nothing better to do,” Williams said at Queen’s. “I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?”

The comeback continues in London as the American makes a blockbuster return four years on from her last grand slam appearance.

The 44-year-old pairs up with sister Venus in the women’s doubles and faces Australian Maya Joint in the singles on Tuesday after being handed a wildcard.

Murray was back in a coaching capacity, this time in Jack Draper’s corner until the end of Wimbledon, but that partnership ended prematurely when Draper was forced to withdraw on Monday due to an arm injury.

Draper, who was ranked fourth in the world last year but is currently 131st due to a spate of ongoing injury issues, had been drawn against sixth seed Taylor Fritz and was pencilled in for Centre Court on Tuesday.

With Raducanu also out, this was a big blow for British tennis fans when confirmed on Monday afternoon.

Carlos Alcaraz is arguably the sport’s biggest pull but he will not be at Wimbledon, the Spaniard suffering a wrist injury that also kept him out of the French Open.

His presence will be missed, but Spanish tennis fans will hope 19-year-old Rafael Jodar can pick up some slack.

Jodar reached the quarters at Roland-Garros, has broken into the top 30, and has been dubbed the “new” Rafa following Rafael Nadal’s retirement. No pressure, kid.

Beyond Jodar, fellow 19-year-old Joao Fonseca is also out to impress, although a shoulder injury forced the Brazilian to withdraw from Eastbourne last week, while 20-year-old Jakub Mensik will hope to back-up his run to the French Open semi-final.

Ben Shelton still counts as Gen Z at 23 and the American’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it serve makes him a serious Wimbledon contender.

In the women’s draw, 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva is the highest-ranked teenager and seeded fifth after winning her first grand slam at the French Open. She reached the quarters at Wimbledon last year and ranks among the favourites.

Iva Jovic is the youngest player in the WTA top 50. Aged 18, she reached the Queen’s semi-final earlier this month and is seeded 16th for Wimbledon.

Retirement speculation will follow Djokovic until the 39-year-old, well, retires… Last year, a packed media room at Wimbledon thought he might call it quits there and then. He didn’t, and has repeatedly said he will only walk away when he can no longer compete with the very best.

Do not expect Djokovic to endure more than a few early-round exits at the slams, and after losing in the French Open third round, he conceded he was unsure if he’d return to Paris next year.

Regarding Wimbledon, without Alcaraz and as a seven-time champion here, Djokovic will firmly believe there is only one man equipped to beat him on grass: his semi-final conqueror last year, defending champion Jannik Sinner.

From the promise of reaching the Queen’s final earlier this month to withdrawing on the eve of her home slam, it never rains but pours for Raducanu.

The 23-year-old reportedly wore a protective boot on Wednesday, had strapping above her right ankle during practice on Saturday, and then delayed her media duties to Sunday.

She did eventually come in to speak to media, and said she was “going to do everything” to face Antonia Ruzic on Monday.

Then, later on Sunday, confirmation of her withdrawal. “I’ve done everything possible to try to get to the start line tomorrow but after a final scan tonight, the niggle I’ve been managing has developed into a stress fracture and I’ve been medically advised to stop pushing through.”

After line judges were shown the door by the All England Club last year, Hawk-Eye’s electronic line-calling system (ELC) got off to an iffy start, malfunctioning in matches and labelled “dodgy” by Raducanu, who was not alone in criticising the technology.

ELC remains for 2026, while one experience The i Paper flagged as an issue – actually hearing the automatic line calls – has been addressed, with visual indicators on the scoreboards being introduced to help spectators immediately tell if the ball was in or out.

For the first time at Wimbledon, players can also call for a video review, contesting double bounces and double hits. They cannot, however, challenge the accuracy of ELC.

You will likely hear BBC’s coverage raise the issue of prize money. Just like at the French Open, leading players are protesting by restricting media opportunities at Wimbledon.

Players want a higher share of the revenue, and with Wimbledon announcing a 20 per cent increase in prize money, the All England Club were left “surprised and disappointed” by this decision to continue protesting.

Cards on the table time. For the men’s, it is difficult to look past Sinner defending his title.

The women’s? Eight winners in the past eight editions. As open as ever with the top three seeds – Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek – all far from perfect in the warm-up events.

If pushed for an answer, I’ll bottle picking Andreeva and plump for fourth seed Jessica Pegula instead. She’s yet to win a major, but reached the final in Berlin earlier this month, and far crazier things have happened at Wimbledon than a player of her ranking upsetting the more household names around her.