World Cup fever is in full swing but tennis diehards will soon shift their focus to Wimbledon, which commences on Monday in a warm and toasty south-west London.Here are some of the biggest talking points entering this year’s Championships.Sinner back after Roland Garros setbackWorld No 1 and defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner is set to make his first appearance since he struggled physically during a shock second-round defeat at Roland Garros after being just one game away from victory.The Italian said he underwent general tests to check on his health and that “all the tests were really good”.Before kicking off Centre Court play on Monday, Sinner discussed his preparations and acknowledged he is searching for ways to better perform in warm weather.“Even though we are very sure we need to practice in hotter conditions; I feel like everywhere where we play is going to be very hot. Every year is getting warmer and warmer. It a very important topic,” said Sinner, who takes on Miomir Kecmanovic in round one.“But at the same time I'm happy the work we're doing. We try to improve in the best possible way, then we see how it goes in the future.“Of course you cannot simulate 100 per cent what you feel in a match.“We did some changes. I don't say big, big changes. But I always believe in small details and small changes.“We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we're not going to see here. It's a long process. There's no magic behind. But yeah, we are doing as much as we can. I'm very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks. Very long days. I feel well-prepared.”Another player who struggled in the Paris heat and lost early from a winning position is 39-year-old Novak Djokovic, who is in the same half of the draw as Sinner, and could face the Italian in the semi-finals.The seven-time Wimbledon champion feels he is better prepared for the Championships compared to Roland Garros, which he admits was very draining and physically demanding.“I was planning to peak at Wimbledon after the injury of the shoulder that kept me away from the tour for several months,” said Djokovic, who is eyeing a first Wimbledon title since 2022.“I knew not having any matches, official matches on the tour, going pretty much straight into Roland Garros, is going to be quite difficult. Maybe too big of a challenge for me at the moment.“That's what happened. But I knew that's going to give me a bit more time to get myself prepared for Wimbledon. So hopefully I'll have a good tournament here.”WTA top spot on the lineAryna Sabalenka will spend her 89th and 90th consecutive weeks as World No 1 during this Wimbledon fortnight but second-ranked Elena Rybakina – a champion at the Australian Open this year and at the All England Club in 2022 – has a chance to dethrone the Belarusian.The scenarios that could lead Rybakina to the summit of the rankings for the first time in her career are as follows:• Rybakina will need to reach the quarter-finals to have a chance at moving to No 1.• If Sabalenka reaches the Round of 16 or quarter-finals, Rybakina will need at least a semi-final.• If Sabalenka reaches the semis, Rybakina must reach the final.• If Sabalenka and Rybakina meet in final, the winner of that clash will take the No 1 spot.“At this point in my career, I don't really focus on the ranking,” Sabalenka said on Saturday.Aryna Sabalenka uses an ice pack during training ahead of the Wimbledon Championships. EPAInfo“I think I learnt throughout the years the moment you start focusing on your ranking, things are going to slip away.“I'm just focusing on myself. I mean, whatever she is going to do here, it's her life, it's her story. I'm focusing on myself, my story. Hopefully by the end of this tournament I can stay on the top of the game.”The last time Sabalenka addressed the media at a Grand Slam, she had just lost to Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals after leading the Russian 6-3, 4-1 with a double-break advantage.The World No 1 said after the defeat that she had “No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now.”Sabalenka explained she got over that feeling after a couple of days.“Couple bags of chips, some sweets, and I'm good to go,” she added with a laugh.Wimbledon is the only major where Sabalenka has yet to reach the final, with her previous best results in south-west London being semi-final appearances in 2021, 2023 and 2025.Her prep for this year’s Championships included a semi-final defeat to Jessica Pegula in Berlin last week but the 28-year-old is feeling positive ahead of her Tuesday opener against Serbian teen qualifier Teodora Kostovic.“Game-wise I feel really good. I was working on couple things ahead of Wimbledon. Things really clicked in Berlin, especially in that second set against Jess. In the third set she played unbelievable,” said Sabalenka.Swiatek targeting rare repeatNine different women have won the last nine editions of Wimbledon and Iga Swiatek acknowledges it might be a tough task for her to break that streak and successfully defend the title she won 12 months ago.The Polish six-time major winner lost the sole grass-court match she played heading into these Championships, unlike last year when she arrived at SW19 on the heels of a maiden grass-court final appearance in Bad Homburg.▶Third seed Swiatek has a tricky draw at Wimbledon, where she opens against American Taylor Townsend, before a possible second round against 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova, and a potential third round against seven-time champion Serena Williams or recent grass-court titlist Alexandra Eala.“Honestly, I'm going to look at it in a realistic way. Obviously, last year's grass season was great. But it's not like I always felt amazing on grass, so …” said Swiatek.“Even though I won, I still feel like I have stuff to figure out. Like this year even, the Bad Homburg tournament didn't really get me that nice rhythm that I had last year. I feel like I'm starting from a totally different position and I'm really in a place that I'm keeping my expectations low.“I feel like I need to play matches and I need to just … it's not going to be smooth because of last year.“That's why I try to not to think about that too much, but more like be grateful about the experience and enjoy it because my dream came true. It's also good to take some happiness from that and be proud of it.”All eyes on SerenaAfter nearly four years away from tennis, Serena Williams will make her first singles appearance since the 2022 US Open at Wimbledon, where she will take on Australian Maya Joint in the opening round.A 23-time major champion and mother of two, Williams kicked off her comeback earlier this month by playing doubles at Queens and Berlin.Serena Williams with coach Rennae Stubbs during a training session. Getty ImagesInfoDjokovic described Williams’ return as “inspirational” and “epic”, while Ben Shelton said seeing her so focused on her comeback is “insanely impressive” and that “it's huge for our game anytime Serena's a part of it”.Sabalenka said she is “super excited to see her play”.“That's incredible. I heard she said she's doing that for her kids to see her play. They really get excited about that. It's amazing what she's doing. Also it's Serena Williams, everyone was talking about that. She's bringing more eyes on tennis. It's a good thing for tennis,” added the World No 1.Murray-coached Draper faces brutal openerJack Draper returned from a two-month injury layoff due to knee tendonitis at Eastbourne this week, where he lost in the semi-finals.The British lefty, who was ranked No 4 in the world this time last year but has slipped to as low as 160 this week due to lengthy injury interruptions, has two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in his corner, having added the Scottish legend to his coaching team.Murray told BBC Sport that “Jack's a brilliant player. There is no doubt that when he gets back on the court he will perform well and win matches at the highest level.“But right now the focus is on trying to get him back competing consistently again.”Draper is in the same quarter of the draw as freshly-crowned French Open champion Alexander Zverev, and has been handed a brutal first round against American sixth seed Taylor Fritz.