The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be attending Wimbledon to watch Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic contest the men’s singles final.
William and Kate, who is patron of the All England Club, will watch the match from the royal box in Centre Court on Sunday.
The duchess is expected to present the trophies to both the runner-up and the winner during a ceremony after the match.
It comes after Kate presented Russian-born Elena Rybakina, who is representing Kazakhstan, with the Venus Rosewater Dish when she beat Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the women’s singles final on Saturday.
The moment came not without controversy as the 23-year-old, who was born and raised in Moscow and played under the Russian flag until she switched international allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018, won the tournament in a year where Russian and Belarussian athletes were banned.
The men’s singles match also comes with a backdrop of controversy as Kyrgios faces charges for common assault against a former partner in Australia.
His wild journey to the final – featuring run-ins with line judges, umpires, opponents, the media and even the crowd – has prompted headlines such as “a menace to tennis” and “Wimbledon’s worst nightmare”, among others.
However, his opponent Djokovic said he was happy to see Kyrgios in the final after the Australian was given a walkover when Spaniard Rafael Nadal pulled out ahead of the semis due to an abdominal injury.
Kyrgios had not been beyond the fourth round at a grand slam for seven years prior to this tournament and has spoken openly about his mental struggles and reluctance to fully commit to the sport.
The Serbian player, who knocked out British number one Cameron Norrie from the tournament on Thursday, said: “I think, between us players, we always know how dangerous he is, on grass particularly, because of his game, because of his attitude on the court being so confident, just going for it, being a very complete player.”
Kyrgios also spoke about Djokovic in a press conference after Nadal’s withdrawal, in which he said has developed a “bromance” with the defending champion over the last few months.
The 26-year-old said he thinks a “Kyrgios-Djokovic final would be mouth-watering”.
“You’ll never probably see anyone who just wins and just plays the game just so good as a winner than Djokovic,” he later added.
On how he feels facing such an experienced player, Kyrgios said: “That’s where Djokovic has the advantage from the get-go.
“He can draw from experience, he’s done it so many more times, he knows the emotions he’s going to be feeling. I don’t know that.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge already watched Djokovic beat Italian Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon on Tuesday in the men’s quarter-final.
They then moved to the stands on No 1 Court to cheer on Norrie as he defeated Belgium’s David Goffin.
William and Kate, who was wearing a blue polka dot dress and pearl earrings, stood up out of their seats to cheer for the British number one when he secured a place in the semi-final.
