WIMBLEDON 2026 BEGINS ON MONDAY
My sports-loving self is so happy that the annual summer Wimbledon tennis tournament begins on Monday! Basketball is over for the season, (I’ll delve into this week’s NBA draft next week,) and shockingly…I am not into the World Cup! Soccer is one of the few sports I just cannot get into. Thankfully so, because sports-watching already takes up enough of my time, so I don’t need any more than I’m already interested in.
I always want the Wimbledon towels.
And a lot has been happening in the tennis world since I last wrote about this sport in September. There are a lot of promising newcomers, top guy Carlos Alcaraz is injured and is therefore sitting out for the second Major in a row, and creepy Serena Williams is back, (playing doubles and, in a recent surprise, singles, as well, and, I’m sure, doing so to advertise show-off her Ozempic—or whichever drug she’s taking—weight loss, which she denied for a long time, until she could make money off it!) Even though I can’t stand her, this is the biggest news in the tennis world since someone beat Sabalenka last month!
Before I get off the Serena tip, I have one more catty fun comment on the situation. Because I write about sports so often, many official oddsmakers include me in their missives. So I see a lot of odds in many categories. For example: who will be rookie of the year, what players will be traded and to whom, which teams will win championships the next year, etc. But the most interesting one that I’ve ever received is this one from last week: “What will be Serena Williams’ playing weight at Wimbledon? Over/Under 160 pounds.”
That so cracked me up! Mr. X still can’t get over that in her playing days, when she was clearly close to 200 pounds, she had her weight listed as…a mere 135! He still mentions it when he sees her.
Serena Williams SINCE she’s lost weight! Oysh.
But the rest of the ladies must be quaking in their boots right about now. Since she’s entering as a Wild Card, because she longer has her old-time seeded player status, anyone can be unfortunate to play her in the first round! Anyone!!! That includes even World #1 Aryna Sabalenka! And all of today’s top players, including defending Wimbledon Champion Iga Świątek. So that might be an interesting wrinkle to this usually drama-free tourney.
As to the rest of Wimbledon 2026, perhaps most interestingly, the French Open a couple of weeks ago wound-up with not one, but both first-time Major Champions!!! On the men’s side, #1 Jannik Sinner and #3 Novak Djokovic both were defeated in…the second round!!! #2 Sasha Zverev took advantage, stayed the course, and after losing his first three Major finals over the years, he finally won one. I’m so happy for him.
New first-time French Open Champs, Mirra Andreeva and Jannik Sinner.
The jury is out on my happiness for the women’s winner, young Mirra Andreeva. I’ve seen her be sort-of sweet when she started out, but in recent times, I’ve seen her be a bit nasty.
Mr. X asked me who my top players are now. He knows I’ve never had the same love of the sport since The Stranger I Love Most, Roger Federer, retired. I do sort-of always root for Carlos in Roger’s stead, but he’s out this year. So, even though I have a feeling that Matteo Berrettini will never win a Major, he’s been my guy for several years now, shallowly, I admit, because of his extreme beauty. But the powers-that-be at these tournaments must be jealous of him because they rarely show his matches, (on normal TV—all the matches are available to stream,) unless he makes it so far that they must! Shame.
Just one pic of gorgeous Matteo Berrettini. I’m grateful for the opportunity to research so many images of this man’s beautiful face!
On the Ladies’ side, I have been rooting mainly for Elina Svitolina for several years because A) she’s a really good person, B) she’s Ukrainian, and I would like that country to have every little bit of happiness, and C) I adore her hilarious husband, Gael Monfils, and I always want him to be happy. Outside of Elina, I’ve rooted for Aryna Sabalenka for a few years because she’s so entertaining, both on and off the court. But there are several girls I wouldn’t mind if they won, as well. As long as Serena Williams does not.
No matter what happens, I will be watching it all. And, of course, I plan to tweet about the goings-on as much as I can, so please follow me @MajorCelebrity now if you don’t already. I’ll also do a full wrap-up when it’s all over.
But most of all, I can’t wait for the Finals to savor my yearly Breakfast at Wimbledon strawberries and cream. Yu-um!
