The 2026 Wimbledon Championships, live on SPOTV NOW, have already produced their fair share of records, milestones and unexpected statistics after just two days of action.
From Novak Djokovic’s remarkable consistency to Southeast Asia’s breakthrough performances, here are 10 fun facts from the opening round at the All England Club.
View this post on Instagram
Djokovic stays perfect
Djokovic improved his perfect first-round Wimbledon record to 21-0 after defeating China’s Wu Yibing in straight sets. The victory also made the Serbian the first player in the Open Era to record more than 80 first-round wins across the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Sinner joins an Italian great
Jannik Sinner equalled Nicola Pietrangeli’s Italian record of 94 Grand Slam singles match wins after surviving Miomir Kecmanovic in five sets. The world No. 1 can claim the record outright if he overcomes Nuno Borges in the second round.
Kecmanovic goes down fighting
Kecmanovic became the second player in as many years to take a reigning Wimbledon men’s singles champion to five sets in the opening round. Fabio Fognini had pushed Carlos Alcaraz the distance last year, while Alejandro Falla was the previous player to do so against Roger Federer in 2010.
A seeded wild card
Despite a surprise first-round exit, Maja Chwalinska achieved one of the rarest feats in Grand Slam history by entering Wimbledon as both a seed and a wild card. The 2026 Roland Garros finalist became just the third player in the Open Era to do so after Martina Hingis at the 2002 US Open and Patty Schnyder at Wimbledon in 2004.
Nightmare start for Britain
Great Britain endured its worst Wimbledon opening since 1988 after 15 home players exited in the first round. Cameron Norrie, the nation’s highest-ranked entrant, was among the biggest casualties after losing to Michael Zheng, leaving only Katie Swan, Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery and Jan Choinski in the singles draws.
Britain’s hopes had already been dented before the tournament began after Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu withdrew through injury.
View this post on Instagram
Eighth time lucky
Pablo Carreno Busta finally won a Wimbledon singles main-draw match on his eighth attempt. The Spaniard entered the Championships with an 0-7 singles record before advancing after Denis Shapovalov retired injured on Monday.
Spain’s latest teenage winner
Rafael Jodar won his first ATP Tour-level match on grass and became only the fifth Spanish teenager in the Open Era to win a Wimbledon men’s singles match. He joined an exclusive group featuring Sergi Bruguera, Tommy Robredo, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
North Macedonia celebrates a first
Lina Gjorcheska became the first player from North Macedonia to compete in a Grand Slam singles main draw. The 31-year-old achieved the milestone after successfully coming through qualifying. She went on to lose to Amanda Anisimova in the first round.
Uzbekistan’s growing presence
Polina Kudermetova, Kamilla Rakhimova and Maria Timofeeva made their Wimbledon debuts representing Uzbekistan after switching nationality from Russia. They also joined a wider trend of former Russian players now representing other nations, including Austria’s Anastasia Potapova and Australia’s Daria Kasatkina.
SEAblings into second round
Alexandra Eala beat Mexico’s Renata Zarazua to clinch her first Wimbledon opening-round win and join fellow Southeast Asians Janice Tjen, Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Lanlana Tararudee in the second round.
Tjen became the first Indonesian to reach the Wimbledon second round since Angelique Widjaja in 2003, while Sawangkaew ended Thailand’s seven-year wait for a women’s singles victory at the All England Club.
