Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek Draw No. 1 Seeds at Wimbledon

21 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic in action during a practice session ahead of the 2022 Wimbledon Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. (dpa)
21 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic in action during a practice session ahead of the 2022 Wimbledon Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. (dpa)
TT
20

Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek Draw No. 1 Seeds at Wimbledon

21 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic in action during a practice session ahead of the 2022 Wimbledon Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. (dpa)
21 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic in action during a practice session ahead of the 2022 Wimbledon Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. (dpa)

Six-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic and French Open winner Iga Swiatek were announced Tuesday as the top seeds for the fortnight of Wimbledon, set to begin Monday in London.

While Swiatek is the No. 1 women's player in the world, the No. 1 men's player in the world, Daniil Medvedev, will not participate in the grass-court Grand Slam. The All England Club in April opted to block all Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament due to their countries' role in the invasion of Ukraine.

World men's No. 8 Andrey Rublev is also banned. On the women's side, World No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka is also one of several players not allowed to compete.

World No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany is also out of the event after suffering an injury at the French Open.

Men's French Open champ Rafael Nadal is the No. 2 seed, followed by Norway's Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and teen phenom Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz, 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini, Cameron Norrie and Jannik Sinner round out the top 10.

In ladies' singles, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia is the No. 2 seed followed by Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, Paula Badosa of Spain and Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Last year's runner-up Karolina Pliskova, Danielle Collins, Jessica Pegula, 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza and US Open champ Emma Raducanu round out the top 10.

Ashleigh Barty won the women's 2021 Wimbledon title but elected to retire earlier this year.

The Wimbledon singles draw will be announced Friday. Djokovic and Swiatek are the betting favorites to win.



Liverpool Sign Defender Kerkez from Bournemouth

Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - May 25, 2025 AFC Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez in action with Leicester City's Kasey McAteer Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - May 25, 2025 AFC Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez in action with Leicester City's Kasey McAteer Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
TT
20

Liverpool Sign Defender Kerkez from Bournemouth

Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - May 25, 2025 AFC Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez in action with Leicester City's Kasey McAteer Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - May 25, 2025 AFC Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez in action with Leicester City's Kasey McAteer Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley

Liverpool have signed Hungary left back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, the Premier League champions said on Thursday.

The Merseyside club agreed a 40 million-pound ($54.9 million) fee to recruit the 21-year-old on a five-year contract, their third signing of the transfer window after midfielder Florian Wirtz and wing-back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen.

"It's a real honor for me, a privilege to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, (the) biggest club in England. I'm just really, really happy and excited," Kerkez said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"I'll go home and in my hometown enjoy a few days, and then I can't really wait to come back and put the training kit on and start to train and prepare for the season."

Kerkez joined Liverpool after two impressive seasons at Bournemouth, in which he made 74 appearances.

Born in Serbia, Kerkez has earned 23 caps for Hungary since making his debut against Germany in 2022.