All you need to know about Australia’s 14 Wimbledon contenders

Fourteen Australians – 11 men and three women – will compete at Wimbledon next week, spearheaded by top-tenner Alex de Minaur and dual quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanovic.

Here is a quick guide to get up to speed with them all ahead of Monday’s start.

Alex de Minaur

Rank: 9First-round opponent: James Duckworth (de Minaur 1-0 head to head).Best Wimbledon result: Fourth round (2022).Australia’s best chance to reach the second week. De Minaur is a force on all surfaces – evidenced by his Roland-Garros quarter-final – but particularly good on grass, with his flatter groundstrokes, and top-class returning and court coverage. Was one point away from the quarter-finals two years ago.

James Duckworth

Rank: 78First-round opponent: 9-Alex de Minaur (de Minaur 1-0 H2H).Best Wimbledon result: Third round (2021)Made the draw as a lucky loser when France’s Corentin Moutet withdrew. The 32-year-old has suffered a series of injuries across the years but keeps fighting back, including moving back inside the top 100 thanks to strong grasscourt results at Stuttgart and Halle. Could prove tricky for de Minaur.

Rinky Hijikata is making his Wimbledon debut.

Rinky Hijikata

Rank: 75First-round opponent: Flavio Cobolli (first meeting).Best Wimbledon result: Debut.The youngest Aussie in the draw at 23, Hijikata packs a punch for his size and is ultra-competitive. He is now a regular on the ATP Tour and his Wimbledon appearance means he will have contested the main draw at all four majors. Cobolli is also making his debut here, but impressed in making the Eastbourne quarter-finals.

Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Thanasi Kokkinakis

Rank: 92First-round opponent: 17-Felix Auger Aliassime (first meeting).Best Wimbledon result: Second round (2022).Kokkinakis’ best major results have typically come at Roland-Garros, and he added to that with a third-round run this year at the claycourt slam. It will be difficult for him to improve his Wimbledon record after drawing Auger Aliassime, but an upset is not impossible if he serves well.

Chris O’Connell will need to upset Taylor Fritz to make it out of the first round.

Chris O’Connell

Rank: 76First-round opponent: 13-Taylor Fritz (Fritz 1-0 H2H).Best Wimbledon result: Third round (2023).O’Connell pulled out of Roland-Garros with a shoulder issue but plans to play here. He has copped his share of rough grand slam draws, and the Fritz match-up qualifies as another. Fritz is coming off a strong week at Eastbourne, but O’Connell’s game is suited to grass, and he performed well at Wimbledon last year.

Alexei Popyrin took it up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Alexei Popyrin

Rank: 47First-round opponent: Thiago Monteiro (Popyrin 1-0 H2H).Best Wimbledon result: Second round (2019).Popyrin’s results suggest he is yet to fully figure out the grass, including losing in the first round at Wimbledon the past three years. That said, he ousted countryman Rinky Hijikata before pushing Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul to three sets at ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Max Purcell hasn’t been in his best form so far this year.

Max Purcell

Rank: 94First-round opponent: Otto Virtanen (first meeting).Best Wimbledon result: First round (2022, 2023).Purcell is into the Eastbourne title match against Taylor Fritz in a welcome return to form after a difficult 2024 season to date. He is one of the world’s best doubles players, and his net skills and slice can give many players trouble on grass. Purcell will be favoured to beat qualifier Virtanen.

Jordan Thompson scored a quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz at Queen’s Club.

Jordan Thompson

Rank: 39First-round opponent: Pavel Kotov (Kotov 1-0 H2H).Best Wimbledon result: Third round (2021).It is deceiving that Thompson has advanced past the second round at Wimbledon only once from seven tries because he is a competent grasscourter. He would have been seeded if he beat Lorenzo Musetti in the Queen’s Club semi-finals. Pushed Novak Djokovic in a tight clash in the second round last year.

Aleks Vukic will arrive at Wimbledon in good form after a strong week at Eastbourne.

Aleks Vukic

Rank: 81First-round opponent: Sebastian Ofner (Vukic 1-0 H2H).Best Wimbledon result: Second round (2023).Vukic warmed up for Wimbledon with a semi-final showing at Eastbourne, and you always know what you will get from the New South Welshman. His Austrian opponent, Ofner, is also in-form and hits a big ball, so Vukic will do well to progress, but he beat him once this year already on clay.

Adam Walton will make his Wimbledon debut this week.

Adam Walton

Rank: 107First-round opponent: Federico Coria (first meeting).Best Wimbledon result: Debut.Won his first ATP Tour main draw match at Mallorca this week as his breakout year continues. Walton has slashed his ranking by almost 70 places since the start of the year, and he has an extremely winnable clash against Coria, who has an 0-3 record at the grasscourt major.

Women

Olivia Gadecki qualified for her first Wimbledon main draw.

Olivia Gadecki

Rank: 177First-round opponent: Robin Montgomery (first meeting).Best Wimbledon result: Debut.Came through qualifying to book her first main draw berth at the All England Club, and starts against a fellow qualifier. It has been an up-and-down year for Gadecki, but she is one of Australia’s best prospects and will bring an aggressive playing style to the court.

Daria Saville is back in the top 100.

Daria Saville

Rank: 82First-round opponent: Peyton Stearns (first meeting).Best Wimbledon result: Third round (2018).Wimbledon, and the grass in general, has not been a happy hunting ground for Saville. She has reclaimed a top-100 ranking since returning to the tour in June last year from her second ACL rupture, and is still capable of an upset on her day. This is a decent draw for Saville.

Ajla Tomljanovic has a difficult Wimbledon opener.

Ajla Tomljanovic

Rank: 135First-round opponent: 13-Jelena Ostapenko (Ostapenko 3-1 H2H).Best Wimbledon result: Quarter-finals (2021, 2022).Tomljanovic missed last year’s championships recovering from a knee injury, then underwent uterine surgery in February. A noted grasscourt performer, she reached last week’s Birmingham final, which scored her the last wildcard for Wimbledon. Tomljanovic must be at her best to make it out of the first round.

Watch Wimbledon 2024 from July 1 live and exclusively free on Nine and 9Now with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand with centre court in 4K on Stan Sport.

Key points

Australia has 14 players in the dingles’ draws at Wimbledon this year; 11 men and three women.

The famous tennis tournament on grass at the All England club starts on Monday.

Alex de Minaur, the world No.9, is the nation’s leading hope, but his first match is against fellow Australian Jame Duckworth.