Preview: Casper Ruud vs. Hubert Hurkacz - Wimbledon prediction, form, head-to-head

One of the marquee matchups in the opening round of this year’s Wimbledon men's draw will see Casper Ruud face Hubert Hurkacz for the second time at a Grand Slam event.

The Norwegian was ousted from the French Open last month by Joao Fonseca in the fourth round 5-7 6-7 (8-10) 7-5 2-6, while Hurkacz most recently exited the Terra Wortman Open in the last 16, losing to Daniel Altmaier 6-3 3-6 5-7.

Match preview

After a pair of solid Grand Slam showings this year, Casper Ruud will hope to turn his luck around at the All England Club this time around.

Seeded 11th heading into this tournament, Ruud has made it to the last 16 in his previous two major tournaments on the singles draw and could advance beyond the opening round of a Grand Slam event for an 18th consecutive time, having missed this event last year.

While he has made it to three Grand Slam singles finals before, the 27-year-old would equal his best-ever finish at Wimbledon with a win on Monday.

He has never lost an opening round singles match at the All England Club this decade after winning the opening set, doing so in each of his last three appearances.

Across all surfaces this year, Ruud has won over 70% of his first-serve points and more than 80% of his service games overall.

Meanwhile, he has won more than 50% of his second serves and rescued over 65% of his break points in 2026.

Hubert Hurkacz returns to England on Monday, the site of his best-ever finish at a Grand Slam singles event, reaching the semi-finals in 2021.

On Monday, he will hope to win his opening match at a major tournament for a third consecutive time this year, having not lost his Grand Slam opener since the 2025 French Open.

In his last singles tournament on grass this year, Hurkacz got to the round of 16 before Altmaier came back to beat him in three sets.

The Polish player has advanced beyond his opening singles match at Wimbledon in each of his last two appearances, including a comeback victory over Radu Albot in 2024.

For the year, he has won over 80% of his first serve points on grass and saved more than 85% of his break points on that surface.

Overall, he has won more than 90% of his service games on grass in 2026 but has converted fewer than 30% of his break point opportunities.

Head To Head

French Open (2022) - Round of 16: Ruud wins 6-2 6-3 3-6 6-3

ATP Masters Canada (2022) - Semi-final: Hurkacz wins 5-7 6-3 6-2

ATP Masters Monte Carlo (2024) - Round of 16: Ruud wins 6-4 6-2

United Cup (2025) - Round Robin: Ruud wins 7-5 6-3

The only previous time these two squared off at a Grand Slam event was at Roland Garros in 2022, when Ruud converted six of his 10 break-point opportunities to advance.

Later that year, the two met up in Canada with Hurkacz evening the series thanks to his 18 aces as he came back to win in three sets.

Two years on from that, Ruud needed just over an hour to dispose of his Polish counterpart in the Principality of Monaco, winning 77% of his first serve points.

At the United Cup in 2025, the Norwegian won a close opening set before cruising to another victory against Hurkacz.

We say: Ruud to win in four sets

While Hurkacz has a serve to be feared, we believe Ruud has more than enough strengths at his disposal, which will propel him into the next round.