Iga Swiatek and Ben Shelton are among the big names who will be in action on Day 6 of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. They are also among those facing tricky opponents at the third-round hurdle.
With seeds already scrambling to book a spot in the second week of the grasscourt Slam, there’s plenty of excitement for the second lot of the third-round encounters set to be played on Saturday (July 5). We have listed five top players who are at the most risk of falling prey to an upset next at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
#1 Iga Swiatek
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The American likes taking big swings at the ball and grass rewards that sort of bravery. She will step out looking to go after each ball and dictate terms from the baseline.
Swiatek did face a few hiccups in her opening matches, but neither player brought the sort of raw power to the table that Collins is capable of. The American has steamrolled through her two matches and comes into the third-round showdown pumped. Notably, Swiatek gave away far too many break chances against Caty McNally. She will have to tighten things up because Collins will be a lot less forgiving.
#2 Belinda Bencic
When playing at her best, Belinda Bencic can be a sight to behold on grass. Her naturally flat ball strike skids through the grass, leaving bamboozled opponents with no other choice than to stand and applaud.
The Swiss, however, faces a tough opponent who seems to have finally cracked the code for doing well on grass. Her groundstrokes come with much more topspin, but Elisabetta Cocciaretto has begun making up for the lack of pace on her shots by adjusting her position on the court. She now steps up to take the ball early every now and then and stays very low on her legs to defend against big hitting.
The Italian got a very good look at what’s coming her way against Bencic during her opening-round win over Jessica Pegula, who plays a lot like Bencic.
Both Cocciaretto and Bencic have served extremely well, dropping serve only once and thrice in their two matches, respectively. It’s a big opportunity for both players, but if the Swiss isn’t careful, her inspired opponent may sneak in another upset.
#3 Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton’s serve has been the difference-maker in his matches at this year’s Wimbledon. He has thundered down 26 aces and will once again need to rely on his big weapon when he takes on Marton Fucsovics in the third round.
The Hungarian, having lost in the final round of the qualifiers, entered the main draw as a lucky loser. And from the looks of it, he has made it a mission to make the best of his second chance. Back-to-back five-set wins have seen him get closer to his best showing at Wimbledon, which was a quarterfinal run back in 2021.
Fucsovics is one of the fittest players out there and can't be tamed easily. Shelton will need to be more patient with him and not fall prey to going for too much too early in the point. The Hungarian has a way of getting under their opponents’ skin, and he will try every trick in the book to extend his second chance at SW19.
#4 Brandon Nakashima
Brandon Nakashima is just one win away from matching his best result at Wimbledon, a fourth-round showing that he posted back in 2022. But he faces a tricky opponent in the form of Lorenzo Sonego.
The Italian, who himself made the fourth round at SW19 in 2021, is well on his way to a career-best season at Grand Slams, having put together a 6-2 win-loss (courtesy a run to the Australian Open quarterfinal) so far.
The Italian played spoilsport to Nikoloz Basilashvili in his last match and had beaten Jaime Faria before that. He has dropped his serve only twice in the two matches.
In the form of Nakashima, Sonego faces another big server. He, however, can take heart from knowing that he possesses far more variety in his game than his opponent. On grass, all the dropshots and varying spins can weave a web that’s too complex to get out.
#5 Emma Navarro up against defending Wimbledon champ
Would you call it an upset if the defending champion was to win her third-round encounter? Well, given the form that Barbora Krejcikvoa arrived in at Wimbledon, a win over a top-10 player might just make the cut.
The Czech stunned the tennis world with her run to the title last year. Unfortunately for her, injuries have meant that the follow-up has been poor. That said, Krejcikova has begun to rediscover her footing with a return on grass, and she has two gritty three-set wins to show for.
Against Navarro, the defending champ faces her biggest test yet. The American is herself in a very good place. She was a quarterfinalist last year and has already beaten a former champion in the form of Petra Kvitova, and dropped just seven games in her two matches.
That said, Krecjikova’s resilience can be unnerving for someone like Navarro, who often relies on opponents losing their patience to win points. The Czech, unlike her compatriot Kvitova and the American’s second-round opponent Veronika Kudermetova, will not give her pace to feed off of. And needing to create her own pace is where Navarro can begin to struggle just that extra bit.
