Wimbledon Round up

 Women's singles

The 2025 Wimbledon women’s singles tournament delivered a captivating blend of surprises, comebacks, and a long-awaited triumph. The early rounds were marked by a flurry of upsets as several top seeds made shock exits. Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini all bowed out in the opening stages, blowing the draw wide open and setting the stage for unexpected contenders to shine.

Chief among them was Amanda Anisimova, whose resurgence became one of the feel-good stories of the tournament. After stepping away from tennis in 2023 to address personal challenges, the American returned to the sport earlier this year with renewed focus and gradually climbed the rankings. At Wimbledon, she found her best form, powering through the draw with poise and grit. Her run to the final captivated fans and reminded the tennis world of her immense talent.

Standing in her way, however, was former world number one Iga Świątek. Known for her clay court dominance, Świątek had previously struggled on grass. But with a rare early exit at Roland-Garros this year, she arrived in London fresh and determined. She navigated the fortnight with growing confidence, dropping just one set—surprisingly to Caty McNally in the second round—before peaking in the final.

Though Anisimova fought bravely, the championship match proved a step too far. Świątek dominated from start to finish, showcasing a newly-adapted grass court game built on aggression, precision, and mental strength. Her straight-sets victory secured her first Wimbledon title and a significant milestone in her already illustrious career.

In a year defined by unexpected turns and inspiring narratives, Świątek’s grass-court breakthrough and Anisimova’s heartfelt comeback stood as powerful reminders of resilience, reinvention, and the ever-evolving drama of women's tennis.

Mens singles

The 2025 Wimbledon men’s singles tournament once again spotlighted the defining rivalry of this era: Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz. After their five-set epic in the French Open final, the two young stars renewed their rivalry on Centre Court, meeting in a much-anticipated Wimbledon final. While the match didn’t quite match the drama of Roland-Garros, it provided a moment of redemption for Sinner, who had come heartbreakingly close in Paris. This time, the Italian prevailed in four sets, overcoming Alcaraz on a surface where the Spaniard had reigned supreme in recent years.

Sinner’s triumph not only marked his fourth Grand Slam title but also raised a compelling question: can Alcaraz match Sinner’s level on hard courts, just as Sinner has proven capable of challenging him on clay and grass? Their head-to-head continues to thrill, with each encounter adding fuel to one of tennis’s most compelling rivalries.

Novak Djokovic also reminded fans of his enduring greatness, reaching the semifinals at the age of 38. Although he was comfortably beaten by Sinner, the fact that he remains a deep Slam contender is extraordinary. Even Djokovic admitted that time is catching up with him, and that maintaining peak performance over two weeks is increasingly difficult against the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz.

Taylor Fritz also enjoyed an impressive fortnight, arriving in form after winning Eastbourne and surviving a pair of grueling five-set matches en route to the semifinals. Meanwhile, British hopes suffered a blow with the early exit of rising star Jack Draper, who lost to former champion Marin Čilić. However, Cameron Norrie provided a silver lining, bouncing back from a tough season with a run to the quarterfinals, where he was eventually halted by Alcaraz.

Wimbledon 2025 cemented a generational shift—and a rivalry for the ages.

Here is the final global league table for the week.

And what a contest it was!!   The battle went right down to the wire and, as seems to be so often the case with FTL this year, the margin between 1st and 2nd was a veritable baw hair (to use a rather crude Scottish term).   I think its only fair to say a massive congrats to Preston who wins the game week but also to 2nd placed Emi who missed out in the end by 0.428 points!  I mean that's nothing, right?  

Congrats also to Derek, Alex, Craig, Mathew and Rick who all cleared 1000 points in the game week.

Lets take a look at the head to head between Preston and Emi.

The main contest went right down to the wire because Preston had Sinner as Captain and Alcaraz as KP while Emi had it the other way round.  That small difference would ultimately decide the game week. 

Preston had all 4 mens semi finalists plus WTA runner up Anisimova and semi finalist Sablaenka.

Emi had 3 of the 4 mens semi finalists but crucially had Iga in her team which led to a great game week.

Both had the same dark horses in Nakashima and Navarro and both had high scorers on the bench (Shelton, Khachanov, Samsonova)  which could have boosted their totals even further but who was to know that Coco would flop like that?

Well done guys on a terrific week.

Wimbledon also saw the launch of the 2nd half masters where managers were invited to submit a 2nd team which would compete in a specially created league to encompass the 2nd half of the season.

Vladyka takes the honours in the first week of this contest with what in truth was a pretty solid side which he managed to put together with the restriction of a 100m budget.