Defending champion Iga Swiatek (ranked No. 3, Poland) has reached the third round of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships, which carries total prize money of 64.2 million pounds.
Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova (No. 73, Czech Republic) 2-0 (6-1, 6-3) in just 1 hour and 10 minutes in the women's singles second round on the fourth day of the tournament, held Thursday at the All England Club in London.
Swiatek, who appeared close to tears before scraping out a 2-1 win over Taylor Townsend (No. 79, U.S.) in the first round, this time won with near-flawless play. Pliskova is a formidable player who rose to world No. 1 in 2017.
"In the first round I was really emotional, but today I played as if I were working in an office. I thought I needed to be sharper," Swiatek said.
Since being eliminated in the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open, Swiatek has extended her record of reaching at least the third round in 26 consecutive major tournaments. Her next opponent, in a match to determine a spot in the round of 16, is Filipino rising star Alexandra Eala (No. 32).
Eala advanced to the third round by beating Maya Joint (No. 87, Australia) 2-1 (3-6, 6-2, 6-0). Joint had defeated tennis great Serena Williams (U.S.) in the first round.
Elena Rybakina (No. 2, Kazakhstan), the 2022 champion, cruised into the third round after defeating Katie McNally (No. 50, U.S.) 2-0 (6-1, 6-2). A strong showing at this tournament could allow Rybakina to take the world No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus).
In the men's singles, French Open champion Alexander Zverev (No. 3, Germany) advanced to the third round by beating France's Valentin Royer (No. 75) 3-0 (6-1, 6-3, 7-6).
At last year's tournament, Zverev was eliminated early after losing in the first round to fellow Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech (No. 25). He has shown a weakness at this event, having competed at Wimbledon nine times without ever advancing past the singles round of 16.
This year looks different. His form is strong, and both title contenders Jannik Sinner (No. 1, Italy) and Novak Djokovic (No. 8, Serbia) are on the opposite side of the draw, meaning he cannot face them until the final.
