Wimbledon 2017: Who are defending champions?
By John Buhler
The 131st playing of the The Championships, Wimbledon will begin on Monday, July 3 in London. Who are the defending champions of the tennis Grand Slam?
On Monday, July 3, the third Grand Slam of the 2017 professional tennis season will be under way. That’s right, it’s time to get excited for some good, old-fashioned lawn tennis at Wimbledon. This will be the 131st playing of the iconic tennis tournament in London. It happens to be the one we all know that is played on well-kept grass.
Expect the courts at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to play fast like a traditional court, but could be a tad more difficult to navigate should the daily London rain get in the way of competition. Who really wants to play on wet grass in the rain? Champions do, so who won the Wimbledon singles titles last year.
In the gentlemen’s tournament, Britain’s own Andy Murray captured his second Grand Slam tournament on his home turf and his third overall. Murray defeated Canada’s Milos Raonic to win his second title at Wimbledon. He will be the top-seed in this year’s tournament.
As for the ladies’ tournament, America’s Serena Williams won her seventh grand slam on grass in 2016. It was her 22nd of 23 grand slam championships. She is only two back of Martina Navratilova for most Wimbledon ladies’ singles titles all-time.
While Williams would win her 23rd career grand slam in the 2017 Australian Open this past winter, she will not be taking part in this year’s tournament in London. She is pregnant with her first child and will miss the U.S. Open as well. There will be a new champion in Wimbledon in the women’s singles tournament.
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Can Murray win repeat as the men’s champion this July? Who will replace Williams as the best women’s player on grass this year? Find out all that and more during the next two weeks in London.