"Who's asking for this?" - Fans furious over Alexander Zverev playing on Centre Court instead of Aryna Sabalenka on Wimbledon 2025 Day 1

Alexander Zverev will play on Centre Court on the first day of main draw matches at this year's Wimbledon Championships. However, reigning WTA No. 1 and two-time semifinalist Aryna Sabalenka's first-round match on the same day has been placed on No. 1 Court. This has not gone down well with several tennis fans.

On Monday, June 30, ATP No. 3 Alexander Zverev is set to get his Wimbledon campaign underway against Arthur Rinderknech on Centre Court. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka is slated to begin her own women's singles campaign against qualifier Carston Branstine from Canada on No. 1 Court.

Many tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) lashed out at the Wimbledon Championships for putting Alexander Zverev on the most prestigious court at SW19 instead of WTA No. 1 and three-time Major champion Aryna Sabalenka.

"Zverev gets Centre Court? Who's asking for this? Show me the data," a fan wrote.

"Not Wimbledon putting on the Zverat over the world number 1," commented another.

"“Rinderknech - Zverev center court”," yet another fan chimed in sarcastically.

"The world #1 starts her Wimbledon campaign on Court 1? 🙄," one questioned.

"People want to watch him (Zverev) lose 🤣," added another.

"I was a bit surprised at that one," weighed in yet another fan.

The fans' criticism stems from the usual tennis custom of putting higher-ranked players and/or players with greater achievements at a specific event on its biggest courts.

---

Aryna Sabalenka not only has a higher ranking than Alexander Zverev going into Wimbledon 2025 but also deeper finishes at grass Major compared to the German

Aryna Sabalenka practicing at Wimbledon (Source: Getty)

Aryna Sabalenka has twice finished as a semifinalist at the Wimbledon Championships. Her first run to the last four at the grass Major came back in 2021. Here, the Belarusian was eliminated in the semis by Karolina Pliskova. Pliskova herself ultimately had to settle for second-best in the final as Ashleigh Barty registered a thrilling three-set win over her.

Sabalenka reached the semifinals at Wimbledon again in 2023. This time around, the big-hitting Belarusian was defeated in the last four by her close friend, Ons Jabeur. On this occasion, Jabeur finished the tournament as runner-up, with Marketa Vondrousova emerging as the surprise women's singles champion.

On the other hand, Alexander Zverev has never made it beyond the fourth round at the grass Grand Slam. The German reached the fourth round on three occasions: 2017, 2021, and 2024. Last year, Zverev's campaign collapsed in memorable fashion, as Taylor Fritz overcame a two-set deficit against the German to progress to the quarterfinals.