Defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina will face American Shelby Rogers in the opening round at Wimbledon while men’s second seed Novak Djokovic will begin his title defence against Argentina’s 67th-ranked Pedro Cachin.

Friday’s draw at the All England Club pitched women’s top seed Iga Swiatek against China’s 33rd-ranked Zhu Lin, a potentially tricky first hurdle for the Pole.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who could not play last year because of Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will open her campaign against Hungarian Panna Udvardy.

Venus Williams against Elina Svitolina is one of the standout matches of the opening round while home favourite Andy Murray, bidding for an unlikely third title at the age of 36, plays British wildcard Ryan Peniston.

Women’s champion Elena Rybakina practises at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Friday. Getty Images

Murray could face fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in round two although the Greek must first get past former US Open champion Dominic Thiem who has tumbled down the rankings. American Coco Gauff, who is being tipped for a long run, has a tough opener against fellow former French Open runner-up and compatriot Sofia Kenin.

Djokovic, who has won the last four men’s titles at Wimbledon and is bidding to match Roger Federer’s eight, is not the top seed this year having been replaced at the top of the rankings by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz, who warmed up by winning the title at Queen’s Club last week, faces a tricky opener against experienced Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Last year’s runner-up Nick Kyrgios, who has hardly played this year because of injury, meets dangerous Belgian wildcard David Goffin in a standout first-round clash.

Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, a potential semi-final opponent for Alcaraz, returns to Wimbledon with a first-round encounter against British wildcard Arthur Fery.

The projected women’s quarter finals could see Swiatek take on seventh seed Gauff while third seed Rybakina could face Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.

The men’s quarter-finals, if the seeds progress, would see Alcaraz up against Denmark’s sixth seed Holger Rune with Medvedev up against Tsitsipas while in the bottom half Djokovic could face seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev with fourth seed Casper Ruud potentially facing Jannik Sinner.