The three biggest disappointments at Wimbledon this year

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Wimbledon 2025 has finally come to an end, with two new champions crowned in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Iga Swiatek won her first title in SW19 after dominating Amanda Anisimova in the final, becoming the first Polish woman in history to emerge victorious at the championships.

In the men’s final, Jannik Sinner came back from a set down to beat Carlos Alcaraz and secure a maiden Wimbledon crown, while also becoming the first from his country to do so in singles.

The two matches capped off an eventful fortnight, filled with controversies, upsets, and remarkable tennis.

Some players have met expectations, and many have surprised, but a number of stars from the ATP and WTA tours have disappointed at the All England Club this year.

1. Jack Draper

Jack Draper entered a Grand Slam as a top-four seed for the first time in his career at Wimbledon this year, off the back of an impressive first half to his 2025 season.

Draper won his first Masters 1000 title in March at the Indian Wells Open and finally cracked the top 10 in the world.

While his campaigns at majors this year hadn’t been amazing, the Briton had shown more than enough throughout the season to be considered a genuine contender for the Wimbledon title.

His run at the tournament started with a walkover over Sebastian Baez, as the Argentine retired from the first-round match due to injury after conceding the opening two sets.

In his second round match, Draper was tasked with 36-year-old Marin Cilic, who was making his first appearance at Wimbledon since 2021.

The now-world number five lost in four sets, bowing out of the tournament in round two for the second consecutive year, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.

2. Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff entered Wimbledon after enjoying an incredible clay swing, where she made finals at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, and won her first Roland Garros title.

Following her triumph in Paris, Gauff, who has never found much success on grass, lost in the first round of the Berlin Open to Wang Xinyu.

She didn’t feature at any other Wimbledon tune-up events for the remainder of the swing and headed to South West London having played just one tour-level match on the surface.

The American was looking to finally make a deep run at the event, which was, and still is, the only Grand Slam she has failed to make it past the fourth round at.

Gauff’s first-round match at the 2025 championships came in the form of Dayana Yastremska, who beat her in straight sets.

Crashing out in the first round to the Ukrainian, the world number two matched her worst career finish at the All England Club.

3. Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev had a promising grass swing leading up to Wimbledon, reaching the final of the Stuttgart Open and the semi-final of the Halle Open.

Like Gauff, Zverev has never warmed to grass-courts, but showed promising signs at the two Germany-based tournaments.

His momentum did not carry through to the third Grand Slam of the year, however, with the world number three falling out in the first round.

In Zverev’s opening match against Arthur Rinderknech, he lost in a five-set marathon to the Frenchman.

It was his worst finish in nine appearances at Wimbledon, and after the match, the 28-year-old said he had ‘never felt this empty’.

Still in pursuit of a major title, Zverev will return to the US Open in August, where he is a former finalist.

The biggest surprises at Wimbledon this year

There have been many shocking results at the championships, with several unlikely candidates going far at the tournament.

One of which was British number two Sonay Kartal, who just 12 months ago was ranked 298 in the world.

Kartal was not expected to make it out of the first round when the draw was made, which pitted her against former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The Briton overcame her in three sets and would go on to reach round four, where she ultimately lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

• Sonay Kartal at Wimbledon
  • First round – beat Jelena Ostapenko
  • Second round – beat Viktoriya Tomova
  • Third round – beat Diane Parry
  • Fourth round – lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Another surprise at Wimbledon this year was Swiatek‘s run to the title, which, despite being a five-time Grand Slam champion prior to the final, seemed unlikely to happen, as she had never made it past the quarter-final in SW19.

It was the major she just wasn’t able to succeed at, tallying several early exits over the years.

That all changed in 2025, as Swiatek dropped just one set en route to the final, where she handed Anisimova a heavy defeat to claim the trophy, completing the surface slam at just 24 years of age.