Harry Poole
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Both players out contesting the opening match on court three have great stories behind them.

It is a poignant occasion for Felix Gill as he makes his Wimbledon debut.

Despite all the hype around him over recent months, this is also a first Wimbledon appearance for Spain’s latest breakout tennis star Rafael Jodar.

The 19-year-old Jodar was ranked 677th in the world 12 months ago but his meteoric rise since means he begins as the 23rd seed at the All England Club.

Arriving in London fresh off a run to the French Open quarter-finals, halted only by eventual champion Alexander Zverev, he’s already impressing on his latest slam appearance, where his namesake, Rafael Nadal, won two titles.

Briton Felix Gill's hopes of an upset on his Wimbledon debut have taken a blow with Spanish 23rd seed Rafael Jodar taking the first set 6-3.

Jodar, 19, is playing in only his third Grand Slam and reached the quarter-finals at the French Open earlier this month.

Prize money per round for men's and women's singles competition

• Exit in first round: £80,000
• Exit in second round: £126,000
• Exit in third round: £185,000
• Exit in fourth round: £300,000
• Exit in quarter-finals: £480,000
• Exit in semi-finals: £900,000
• Runner-up: £1,800,000
• Winner: £3,600,000

Read more on Wimbledon prize money from our Ask Me Anything team

Emily Salley
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Court 18 is one of the bigger outside courts at Wimbledon, but there's not a spare seat to be seen. Fans clearly want to see what new British talent is out there by watching Mika Stojsavljevic in action.

Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup captain, Anne Keothavong, is also watching on from the balcony that overlooks the court.

Image source, Getty Images

It is a subject that has been shrouded in controversy over recent months, with players protesting over prize money at Grand Slams.

The total prize fund at this year's Wimbledon will be £64.2m, following the largest annual increase in the event’s history at 20%.

The singles' champions will each take home £3.6m with first-round losers paid £80,000.

More than £6m was set aside for the qualifying competition - an increase of 25%.

At Wimbledon, the players have now ended their boycott of media duties over prize money after "constructive meetings" with the All England Club.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport tennis news reporter at Wimbledon

Image source, Getty Images

Making your Wimbledon debut is always an emotional occasion for any player - but it is a particularly poignant for British wildcard Felix Gill today after a challenging time in his life.

The 24-year-old from Redditch was introduced to tennis by his father Matthew, who died from blood cancer in the summer of 2022.

Gill's mother Elizabeth was also ill at the same time with leukaemia.

More happily, she has been in remission for about five years and will be watching on court - along with his brother Zach and sister Lily - as 220th-ranked Gill hopes to cause a huge shock against fast-rising Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar.

"They were a year apart of when they were diagnosed, so there was a lot of trips to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham during those times," Gill said.

"Looking back, with how difficult it was, it was amazing that I was able to be OK during those times."

Gill added his dad would have been "over the moon" to see him stepping out on the Wimbledon grass.

"He always wanted his children to be better than him, so he'd be so happy," added the British number 11.

Image source, Getty Images

Can you believe it's been 10 years since Andy Murray lifted the men's singles trophy at Wimbledon for a second time?

Home players won a record five of that year's prizes at the All England Club on the greatest weekend in British tennis history.

A decade on we've revisited that glorious weekend through the eyes of those who were there.

Emily Salley
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

There's a warm cheer for 17-year-old Brit Mika Stojsavljevic as she heads to the baseline to get things up and running on Court 18.

And there's an even bigger roar when she brings up a break point in the opening game against Belinda Bencic.

But the noise level goes up another notch as Bencic, a former Olympic champion, fires long.

A solid start by the teenager!

We are officially under way on day one at Wimbledon!

Among the early starters are Britons Felix Gill, who faces Spanish men's 23rd seed Rafael Jodar and Mika Stojsavljevic, who takes on Swiss women's 11th seed Belinda Bencic.

Women's fourth seed Jessica Pegula is also in action against the Czech Republic's Darja Vidmanova.

While we won't be focusing on one particular match for the time being, we'll bring you regular updates across those matches, while you can take your pick from all 18 courts here.

Image source, Getty Images

The first episode of this year's Wimbledon Daily is out, looking at how much Jack Draper can learn from Andy Murray and why Serena Williams is making a comeback.

French Open doubles champion Ryan Harrison, Wimbledon quarter-finalist & mixed doubles winner Daniela Hantuchova and tennis correspondent Russell Fuller join Maz Farookhi before the the Championships.

You can listen here.

Harry Poole
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

The sun is shining, the courts are looking pristine, and now the fans have arrived!

An announcement welcoming spectators is played over the tannoy as those lucky enough to be here on day one begin streaming through the gates and make their way to their chosen court, or set up camp for a day in the glorious weather on Henman Hill.

We're all set for a blockbuster first day of action here in SW19. Bring it on...

Image source, Getty Images

Despite Emma Raducanu's withdrawal, there is of course a strong British contingent at SW19 across all the categories.

In the men's and women's singles, there are 20 set for first round action, with 11 of those due to be on court on day one.

One of those featuring is Harriet Dart, who's replaced Raducanu as first up on Court One. Dart, the world number 152, takes on former US Open champion Jelena Ostapenko from 13:00 BST.

Among the other Brits in action, 26th seed Cameron Norrie faces American Michael Zheng.

Anne Keothavong
Former British number one on BBC Two

Devastating news for her first and foremost, and everyone else.

It's something she's been struggling with. They went for a final scan last night to check everything was okay but it wasn't. You can't mess around with stress fractures.

Hopefully she'll be back soon.

Image source, Getty Images

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport tennis news reporter at Wimbledon

To play or not to play? That was the question racing around Raducanu's mind all day on Sunday.

Like any British player, Raducanu does not want to miss Wimbledon - and it is why she left making the decision to pull out until so late.

However, she ultimately felt she had to listen to the advice from doctors.

It is another bitter setback for Raducanu in a short career which has been blighted by a series of injury problems since her fairytale US Open victory in New York five years ago.

At the French Open last month, an emotional Raducanu admitted that maintaining a positive mindset can be difficult with the number of obstacles she has endured.

Now, with the cycle of a step forward being followed by a setback continuing, she must once again try to draw strength from adversity.

Image source, Getty Images

Fears about British number one Emma Raducanu's fitness were solidified on Sunday when it was revealed she will not play at Wimbledon after suffering a stress fracture in her lower right leg.

Raducanu, 23, announced the decision shortly after 22:00 BST - about seven hours after telling journalists she planned to play.

Raducanu, who was seeded 30th, was due to start her campaign on Monday against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One.

"I've done everything possible to try to get to the start line but after a final scan tonight the niggle I've been managing has developed into a stress fracture," Raducanu said.

After the sweltering weather last week, things are looking decidedly cooler at SW19 today.

(And that zero percent chance of rain is always a welcome sight!)

Image source, BBC Weather

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From sticking up the order of play to one last lick of paint on the lines of all 18 championship grass courts, Wimbledon is a hive of activity in the morning on day one.

And that's just the start of the action, with a total of 64 matches to take place on the opening day.

There's nothing quite like day one of a Grand Slam.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

That famous Wimbledon music can only mean one thing...

We're live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer for the build-up to the opening day of the 2026 Championships.

Click 'watch live' at the top of this page.

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As is tradition at Wimbledon, the defending men's singles champion will open up play on Centre Court, with world number one Jannik Sinner taking on Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic at 13:30 BST.

Despite his shock early exit at the French Open last month, with two-time champion and rival Carlos Alcaraz sidelined through injury, the Italian arrives as the favourite once again.

• Read: The Making of Jannik Sinner

Sinner will be followed on Centre by women's top seed and world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who heads to SW19 in search of her first Grand Slam title on the grass, having appeared in three previous semi-finals.

She also comes up a against a Serbian opponent in Teodora Kostavic.

Rounding up proceedings on Monday will be seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who takes on China'sYibing Wu.

The 39-year-old may be playing less these days, but he can never be ruled out as he hunts down a record-breaking 25th major.