The Wimbledon Championships, commonly referred to as simply “Wimbledon”, was founded around 148 years ago in 1877 and has witnessed a phenomenal total of 137 seasons so far, and one thing that has remained constant in all the past editions of Wimbledon is its unpredictability.
Over the years, numerous underdogs in the tennis world have outplayed legendary tennis players and shocked millions of tennis aficionados from all over the world. The most recent 2024 edition of the Wimbledon Championships was won by Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Novak Djokovic. While Wimbledon has undoubtedly witnessed the dominance of tennis stalwarts, it has also been a witness to their share of disappointments over the decades.
In this article we will take a look at the top four most shocking Wimbledon upsets of all-time.
Top 4 Most Shocking Wimbledon Championships Upsets Of All-Time
George Bastl vs Pete Sampras at 2002 Wimbledon
The second round match between George Bastl and Pete Sampras at the 2002 Wimbledon is often looked upon as one of the most shocking upsets in the history of Wimbledon Championships. While Sampras was aiming for his 14th Grand Slam title, George Bastl smoothly dominated the first two sets (6-3,6-2). Interestingly, Pete Sampras fought back fiercely and made a strong comeback in the next two sets (6-4,6-3), leading the game to an intense deciding round.
While millions of fans were rooting for Sampras to secure his 14th grand slam title, Geroge Bastl left everyone shocked and clinched the deciding round with a phenomenal 6-4. The shocking defeat resulted in Sampras’ retirement in 2003.
Ivo Karlovic vs Lleyton Hewitt at 2003 Wimbledon
At the second spot in our list of the top four most shocking upsets in the history of Wimbledon Championships we have the first round of 2003 Wimbledon between Ivo Karlovic and Lleyton Hewitt. While the defending champion, Lleyton Hewitt, was expected by the fans to dominate Karlovic right in the first round, the match turned out into a shocking upset for the fans.
Although Karlovic lost the first set to Hewitt with a humiliating 6-1 score, he ultimately clinched the third and fourth sets to cease a phenomenal 1-6 victory. While Karlovic’s fans widely commemorated his victory, the match turned out to be one of the biggest upsets for Lleyton Hewitt’s fans.
Lukas Rasol vs Rafael Nadal at 2012 Wimbledon
Brace yourselves up for the most shocking upset of Wimbledon of all-time! At the third spot in our list of top four most shocking upsets in the history of Wimbledon Championships we have Rafael Nadal’s defeat at the 2012 Wimbledon. The second-ranked player, two-time Wimbledon Champion, Rafael Nadal, was expected to easily dominate Lukas Rasol who was making his Wimbledon main-draw debut at the age of 26. Contrary to a majority of expectations, Lukas Rasol proved to be the underdog and defeated Nadal with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, marking one of the biggest upsets in recent Wimbledon history.
Sergiy Stakhovsky vs Roger Federer at 2013 Wimbledon
At the fourth spot in our list of top four most shocking upsets in the history of Wimbledon we have Roger Federer’s heartbreaking defeat against Sergiy Stakhovsky at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Roger Federer, the then seven-time Wimbledon champion, intimidated Stakhovsky in the first round.
However, the Ukrainian tennis stalwart did not lose hope and broke Federer’s serve in the 11th game of the third set, managing to serve it out and claim the set 7-5, leveling the match at 1-1. Stakhovsky ultimately closed out the tiebreak 9-7, securing a remarkable 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 victory, one of the biggest wins of his career.
