Wimbledon Day 2 preview: Kvitova returns, Gauff and Swiatek headline action

WIMBLEDON -- There are four former Wimbledon champions in this year’s main draw, but only one of them has won two titles at the All England Club.

Petra Kvitova -- victorious in 2011 and 2014 -- could be playing her final match here when she meets No. 10 seed Emma Navarro on Tuesday.

“Happiness, that is the only word I can use to describe being back here,” Kvitova told the Wimbledon website. “My parents are here, my son, my husband, my brother is coming as well, so basically the whole family is going to be together with me for the last time.

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“My son has just been on the edge of the court; we have taken a lot of pictures and videos with him to show him one day that he was here.”

Kvitova, now 35, has announced that this will be her final season. The left-hander from the Czech Republic accepted a wild card.

“When I was growing up, I never thought I could be a professional tennis player,” she said. “Then when I became one, I was just dreaming of playing at Wimbledon, never about winning. 

“When it happened, it felt very unreal, it still feels surreal for me, even though I won it twice. It feels like it was somebody else.”

A look at Tuesday’s most anticipated first-round matches from the bottom half of the draw:

No. 10 Emma Navarro vs. wild card Petra Kvitova

Head-to-head: 0-0.

“My first year on tour, and we played actually a lot of matches together,” World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said. “It’s crazy. I’m kind of, like, sad. I was thinking when I saw the news, `Why? Why would you retire? Keep going.’”

After giving birth to son Petr last July, Kvitova returned to play this spring in Austin. It’s been tough going, with seven losses in eight matches. That won’t be on anyone’s mind when she steps on the court Tuesday.

Navarro has played three grass-court tournaments coming in and has a record of 4-3. She reached the quarterfinals in Bad Homburg before falling to eventual champion Jessica Pegula.

No. 17 Barbora Krejcikova vs. Alexandra Eala

Head-to-head: 0-0.

She’s the defending champion, but Krejcikova comes in at less than full strength.

After wrestling with a back injury that kept her out for six months, she’s nursing a thigh injury sustained last week in Eastbourne. Krejcikova, who granted a quarterfinal walkover to Varvara Gracheva, said she was ready to go.

“I had to have couple days off where I didn’t really play any tennis, but I did some off-court stuff,” Krejcikova told reporters Sunday. “I’ve been feeling every day a little bit better, so I’m really happy with that.”

Eala has been one of the great revelations of the 2025 season. She raced into the semifinals at the Miami Open, defeating three Grand Slam champions, before losing to Jessica Pegula. More recently, the 20-year-old from the Philippines won six matches (including qualifying) before losing in the Eastbourne final to Maya Joint.

“She’s obviously a young player, an upcoming player, and one of the players of the new generation,” Krejcikova said. “I saw some rallies. I saw some matches. I’m looking forward to, yeah, play against her and to see where the young generation is.”

No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. Dayana Yastremska

Head-to-head: 3-0, Gauff, all on clay, most recently second round in 2025 Madrid -- in three sets.

Gauff won the French Open earlier this month, but after facing the narrowest gap between Grand Slam tournaments on the calendar, she did a quick reset.

“I’m very much someone who can look ahead very quickly,” Gauff said. “I’d rather just stay in the moment and think about this and kind of forget French and then revisit it maybe at the end of the season and celebrate it a little bit more.

“But I still want to do really well here. I feel pretty confident on the court.”

Yastremska can say the same. She won four matches in Nottingham, falling in the final to McCartney Kessler and then two more in Eastbourne.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto

Head-to-head: 1-0, Pegula -- two years ago in the third round at Wimbledon in straight sets.

Pegula is riding a surge of momentum after winning the title last week in Bad Homburg. That’s a quick turnaround for the 31-year-old American, who was a quarterfinalist here two years ago. This only Cocciaretto’s third Wimbledon; she’s 3-2 and coming off a semifinal performance at the Libema Open and a successful qualification in Eastbourne.

No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. Mayar Sherif

Head-to-head: 0-0.

After reaching the Round of 16 in her Wimbledon debut, Andreeva was swept away in last year’s first round. She’s 3-2 at Wimbledon and 1-2 in grass events this year. Sherif, ranked No. 69, is 0-2 at Wimbledon.

No. 8 Iga Swiatek vs. Polina Kudermetova

Head-to-head: 0-0.

Swiatek’s confidence is soaring after reaching the final in Bad Homburg, her first final since winning Roland Garros a year ago. The 22-year-old Kudermetova lost her only grass match of the season -- to older sister Veronika.

No. 11 Elena Rybakina vs. Elina Avanesyan

Head-to-head: 1-0, Rybakina, three years ago in Rome’s first round.

No one in the field has a better record at Wimbledon than Rybakina’s 19-3, but she’s coming off relatively disappointing efforts at Queen’s Club and Berlin, where she went 3-2. This will be the first grass match of the year for Avanesyan, who is ranked No. 49.

No. 28 Sofia Kenin vs. qualifier Taylor Townsend

Head-to-head:  3-2, Kenin, but 1-1 since 2017.

Kenin is 5-5 at Wimbledon but coming off first-round main-draw losses in Berlin and Eastbourne. Townsend won three qualifying matches here and, with Katerina Siniakova, is the defending champion in doubles.