Wimbledon: List of defending champions who lost in opening round

A defending champion losing in the opening round of a Grand Slam is a massive upset. At Wimbledon, this has been pretty rare.

Here are the three players who won the singles title at Wimbledon and then lost in the opening round of the next edition:-

Manuel Santana (1967) – Lost 10-8, 6-3, 2-6, 8-6 to USA’s Charlie Pasarell

Spain’s Manuel Santana in action against USA’s Charlie Pasarell in first round of the Wimbledon championships on June 26, 1967.
| Photo Credit:
THE HINDU ARCHIVES

Steffi Graf (1994) – Lost 7-5, 7-6(5) to USA’s Lori McNeil

Germany’s Steffi Graf (left) shakes hands with USA’s Lori McNeil (right) after losing *in first round of Wimbledon on June 21, 1994.
| Photo Credit:
GETTY IMAGES

Lleyton Hewitt (2003) – Lost 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-4 to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia

Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt (right) shakes hands with Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic (left) after defeat in first round of Wimbledon on June 23, 2003.
| Photo Credit:
AP