​Cameron Norrie endured a rare Wimbledon first-round defeat, succumbing in a demanding five-set battle to qualifier Michael Zheng as nine Britons crashed out on the opening day of their home Grand Slam. Norrie, the world number 29 and frequently Britain’s last man standing at the Slams, had fought back from a set lead twice but was edged out 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-6 (10-4) after four hours on court. This marked the first time since 2018 that Norrie had exited Wimbledon in the first round, and it was also the most Britons to lose on day one at Wimbledon since 2005, when nine compatriots were defeated. Jack Pinnington Jones and Francesca Jones still had to play their first-round matches on Monday, and Jack Draper withdrew 24 hours before his scheduled start due to injury.
“Losing at Wimbledon, my favourite tournament in the world, stings,” said Norrie, 30. “It’s tough because you want to be out there competing when you know everyone else is still in it.” After playing only one grass-court match this season, following an injury-related retirement at the French Open, the former world number eight looked rusty, breaking Zheng only once in the entire match. Zheng, ranked 144th, struck 21 aces to Norrie’s four, and committed just four double faults to Norrie’s ten.
In other results, Harriet Dart nearly completed a remarkable comeback but eventually fell 6-3 3-6 6-4 to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The match, originally scheduled for Court 17, was moved to Court One after Raducanu’s withdrawal opened up a spot on the show court. Dart, a wildcard, produced an entertaining two-and-a-half-hour display to push Ostapenko to a deciding set. Ostapenko will face either Antonia Ruzic of Croatia or fellow Croatian Darja Semenistaja, the lucky loser who took Raducanu’s place.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic lost 6-2 6-1 to 2021 Olympic champion and 11th seed Belinda Bencic. Felix Gill and Max Basing also fell in their Grand Slam debuts, losing to 23rd seed Rafael Jodar and qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, respectively. Alicia Dudeney, another main-draw debutant, went down 6-3 6-3 to American Alycia Parks. Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman, both stepping up to senior level, were defeated by Daria Kasatkina and 2024 Wimbledon singles champion Barbora Krejcikova, respectively, while Oliver Tarvet was beaten by 25th seed A.