Despite the recent shortage of top-tier homegrown talent, Wimbledon continues to stand out as a premier event on the British sporting calendar.
A British player hasn’t claimed a singles title at SW19 since Andy Murray’s 2016 victory, but there’s reason for fans to feel hopeful this summer.
The French Open was challenging for the British players, who often find clay courts difficult, but they tend to thrive during the grass court season.
Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion and fresh off his best-ever showing at Roland Garros, remains the player everyone is chasing.
Barbora Krejcikova, last year’s Women’s Singles champion, has faced challenges with both fitness and form throughout the 2025 season.
With Murray now retired, talkSPORT.com explores the emerging British stars aiming to bring home success at Wimbledon.
Jack Draper
At 23, he was considered a dark horse to make a surprising run at Wimbledon last year, but his campaign ended in the second round.
A year later, the Londoner who made it to the US Open semi-finals in September—is now set to take center stage at the All England Club.
After missing Wimbledon in 2023 due to injury, his second-round exit last summer merely matched his best performance at the tournament from 2022.
This year, however, the British No.1 has elevated his game, capturing the title at Indian Wells and reaching the final of the Madrid Open.
He achieved personal bests by reaching the fourth round at both the Australian and French Opens, with his performance at Roland Garros boosting him another spot in the ATP rankings to World No. 4.
Draper also knows what it takes to defeat Wimbledon champion Alcaraz on grass, having pulled off a surprise win against the Spaniard at Queen’s Club last summer.
Top 10 in the latest ATP Rankings
| Rank | Player | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | ITA | 10,430 |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | ESP | 9,300 |
| 3 | Alexander Zverev | GER | 6,500 |
| 4 | Jack Draper | GBR | 4,650 |
| 5 | Taylor Fritz | USA | 4,635 |
| 6 | Novak Djokovic | SRB | 4,630 |
| 7 | Lorenzo Musetti | ITA | 4,140 |
| 8 | Holger Rune | DEN | 3,530 |
| 9 | Daniil Medvedev | RUS | 3,420 |
| 10 | Ben Shelton | USA | 3,170 |
Cameron Norrie
At 29, he has found it challenging to shoulder the expectations of being seen as Murray’s natural successor at Wimbledon.
The former long-standing British No.1 made it to the semi-finals in 2022, where he was ultimately defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Consequently, many fans hoped that Norrie would build on that strong performance in the years that followed and eventually capture a Grand Slam title.
After climbing as high as world No.8, his form declined, and the South African-born player dropped out of the top 80 for the first time in six years.
A torn biceps led to his withdrawal from both the Olympic Games and the US Open, but the three-month recovery period allowed him a chance to regroup and reset.
He makes his Wimbledon return following an impressive run to the fourth round of the French Open, highlighted by a remarkable upset over former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev, before ultimately falling to Djokovic.
Katie Boulter
The current British No.1 is teaming up with fellow Brit Emma Raducanu for the first-ever WTA 500 event at The Queen’s Club this month.
Ironically, despite both making early second-round exits at the French Open, the two women will carry the expectations of British fans in the women’s draw at Wimbledon.
Boulter, who claimed the British No.1 title from Raducanu in June 2023, will need to rediscover her standout form from last year as she heads into this summer’s tournaments.
Following her maiden WTA title win at the Nottingham Open a year ago, the 28-year-old cracked the top 30 in the WTA rankings.
She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No.23 in November, but off-court challenges have overshadowed what has been a difficult 2025 season so far.
Boulter has fallen short of the second round in both of her Grand Slam appearances this year, though she continues to perform far better on grass courts.
Emma Raducanu
The 22-year-old has faced widely publicized challenges with both fitness and consistency since her breakthrough win at the 2021 US Open.
Since her victory at Flushing Meadows, she hasn’t made it to another final and has slipped outside the top 300 due to a string of injury setbacks.
Nevertheless, Raducanu emerged as the top-performing British singles player at Wimbledon last year, being the only one to advance to the second week of the tournament.
This marks the second occasion the Canadian-born star has progressed to the last 16 at SW19, while Boulter’s furthest run remains the third round.
Raducanu may still need to regain the Wimbledon crowd’s support, after withdrawing from a planned mixed doubles match with Murray during what was set to be his final Grand Slam appearance before retirement.
She pulled out due to wrist soreness to concentrate on her singles campaign, unintentionally bringing an early end to the Scottish star’s farewell tour.
Raducanu has climbed back to No.37 in the Live Rankings, despite a heavy 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Iga Swiatek in the second round at Roland Garros.
Still, this year marked her first appearance at the French Open since 2022, and by her own admission, clay is the surface she struggles with the most.