LONDON, June 25, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Reigning champion Jannik Sinner is a strong favourite to successfully defend his Wimbledon title this year, despite a shock early French Open exit which ended his and Carlos Alcaraz's dominance of men's tennis.

Alexander Zverev took advantage at Roland Garros but has never performed well at Wimbledon, while Novak Djokovic may be running out of time to secure a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Here, AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the tournament, which starts at the All England Club on Monday:

Does Sinner have a weakness?

World number one Sinner returns to action for the first time since seeing his 30-match winning streak snapped in dramatic fashion in the French Open second round by Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

The Italian led by two sets and 5-1 in the third before collapsing to a bizarre loss as he faded physically in blistering heat.

Sinner has only lost nine matches since the start of 2025, four of those to currently injured rival Alcaraz.

He insisted he was "not dying because of the heat" in Paris, insisting he had been feeling unwell.

But he has failed to deal with hot temperatures before, including in his last Masters defeat when he retired from his third-round tie against Tallon Griekspoor in Shanghai last year.

Sinner also struggled visibly during the Australian Open earlier this season, before later losing to Djokovic in the semi-finals.

The four-time Grand Slam champion will be happy to see the current heatwave hitting Western Europe being forecasted to end before the start of Wimbledon, where he is still without doubt the man to beat after his final victory over Alcaraz last year.

"It is definitely something I would love to feel again, I'm not lying, but at the same time, if it's not going to happen, I did it once, and will remember (it) forever," he said in an interview with Stan Sport of his hopes of going back-to-back.

Djokovic bidding to bounce back

The 39-year-old Djokovic has come close several times to winning a long-awaited 25th major trophy, but at the French Open he suffered his joint-earliest exit from a Slam since the 2017 Australian Open.

Wimbledon will be only Djokovic's fifth tournament of the campaign as he continues to play a reduced schedule.

The grass courts of SW19 may represent Djokovic's best chance of another Slam success, although he did reach the Australian Open final in February.

But doubts still surround the Serb's fitness and he pulled out of an exhibition grass-court event in London this week, without specifying a reason.

But Djokovic, one short of Roger Federer's record tally of eight men's Wimbledon titles, only played one match on clay in preparation for the French Open and then said he was "happy with his level" during the tournament.

Can rising stars build on Paris promise?

Teenagers Rafael Jodar and Joao Fonseca produced some eye-catching tennis with breakthrough runs to the French Open quarter-finals and will be expecting to build on that at Wimbledon.

Czech 20-year-old Jakub Mensik also impressed in reaching the semis as a new generation made their mark on a major competition for the first time.

Fonseca's comeback victory in the third round at Roland Garros over Djokovic appeared to be a coming-of-age moment for the Brazilian star.

The 19-year-old's power-packed game looks primed to make an impact on grass and the Brazilian reached the last 32 on his Wimbledon debut last year.

Jodar, 19, has never even played an ATP-level match on grass, but has climbed into the world's top 30 having started 2026 at number 168.

Mensik is now back in the world's top 20 and is one of only three men to beat Sinner this year.

French Open champion Zverev has never got past the last 16 in nine previous Wimbledon appearances, leaving the youngsters as perhaps the most likely challengers to Sinner and Djokovic.