Novak Djokovic may face a challenging path at Wimbledon 2025 following Taylor Fritz’s impressive title run in Stuttgart. The American stunned World No. 3 Alexander Zverev with a 6-3, 7-6(0) victory in the rain-affected final, claiming his fourth grass-court ATP title and ninth career title overall. While Fritz’s stellar performance brought personal glory, it unexpectedly reshaped the ATP live rankings, delivering an untimely blow to Djokovic.
With Jack Draper failing to defend his Stuttgart title after a first-round exit, he dropped in the rankings, leaving a spot open in the top four. Djokovic, previously poised to take advantage, was leapfrogged by Fritz, who jumped into the top four, pushing the 24-time Grand Slam winner to fifth.
This ranking change could drastically affect Djokovic’s Wimbledon draw. By being seeded fifth, he risks landing in the same quarter as one of the top three players—Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, or Alexander Zverev—or even Taylor Fritz himself. While Djokovic boasts winning records over both Fritz and Zverev and has traditionally excelled at Wimbledon with eight titles, the possibility of facing Alcaraz or Sinner as early as the quarterfinals raises the stakes for an early upset.
Notably, Djokovic has chosen to skip all warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon, making the setback in seeding even more significant. His most recent tournament was Roland Garros, where he suffered a semifinal loss to Sinner. Earlier in the season, an injury in Melbourne forced him to retire during the Australian Open semifinal against Zverev.
Djokovic’s dominance at SW19 is undisputed, having reached every final since 2018, winning four consecutive titles before two back-to-back final losses to Carlos Alcaraz. However, the ranking twist now introduces an element of uncertainty to his 2025 campaign.
