Jannik Sinner will go into this year’s Wimbledon as the hot favorite to retain the title he won 12 months ago, especially with main rival Carlos Alcaraz missing through injury.
The Spaniard’s absence though will also have other players thinking they have a good chance of lifting the famous old trophy.
There is always one surprise package in the Grand Slams, particularly on the grass, and rarely does a favorite get it all their own way.
In this article, with the draw having been made, we look at the dark horses and those that could go deep in the tournament at a big price.
2026 Men's Wimbledon: Dark Horse Picks, Predictions & Best Bets
Francis Tiafoe (+5000)
The signs are good for Francis Tiafoe, as he prepares for what will be his ninth appearance in the men’s singles at SW19.
So far, the US number four has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, but this year seems to offer him a great chance of making the later stages.
The 28-year-old made the last 16 at the French Open and since then has enjoyed good preparation on grass.
Tiafoe reached the quarterfinals at Stuttgart before lifting the title in Halle, where he beat three players inside the world’s top 10 - Taylor Fritz, Flavio Cobolli and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The man from Maryland is in the other half of the Wimbledon draw to Italian Sinner, who has beaten the American in five of their six previous meetings.
Tiafoe, 17th seed, will face France’s Terrance Atmane in round one, a player he has beaten in both of their previous meetings.
If he progresses as expected, the two-time US Open semi-finalist could face Alexander Bublik, the unpredictable Kazakh.
The world number 10 was beaten in the first round at Wimbledon last year, which will give Tiafoe real confidence of sealing a big W.
That then could lead to a fourth-round clash with either Fritz, who he beat in the Halle final, or Britain’s Jack Draper.
Jakub Mensik (+5000)
Czech star Jakub Mensik is seeded 15 and will be delighted with the draw he has landed, as he is also in the bottom half and looks to try and better his third-round appearance in 2025.
The 6ft 5in right hander has the type of serve that can cause big problems on grass, with Mensik ranked fourth for the number of aces on the ATP Tour this year.
Having reached the semifinals in Paris, Mensik will have been disappointed with his opening loss at Queen’s to Adrian Mannarino.
Fatigue could have been an issue and he has now had more than 10 days to get himself prepared for the third Grand Slam event of the year.
Mensik starts his bid to win his first Slam with a clash against British wildcard Toby Samuel, who is ranked 142 in the world.
If matches go as expected, he might not face another seed until the fourth round, when he could come up against US number one Ben Shelton.
Shelton and Mensik have never played on grass before, but the Czech player has won two of their three previous matches.
Alex De Minaur (+6600)
You have to go back to 2002 for the last time an Australian man - Lleyton Hewitt - lifted the Men’s Singles title at Wimbledon.
Alex De Minaur goes into this year’s tournament seeded 5, but finds himself quite a way down the outright odds list.
The 27-year-old - who is engaged to UK tennis star Katie Boulter - is a former quarterfinalist in London and will have plenty of support from the crowd.
De Minaur reached the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass-court final in early June, where he lost to Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak in three sets.
The Aussie then made the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club and now prepares to face Roman Burruchaga of Argentina in the first round of the grass-court Slam.
De Minaur should reach round three, where he would play either Majchrzak or Chile’s world number 33 Alejandro Tabilo - with the winner potentially taking on ninth-seed Flavio Cobolli in the fourth round.
Read the latest tennis news on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
