Fans have been left fuming with the BBC’s coverage of British number 1 one Jack Draper’s opening Wimbledon match against Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.
Jack Draper took his opening set against the world no 38 in just 26 minutes, in a dominating 6-2 victory.
However, fans were made to miss the first two games as a result of the BBC switching the coverage from BBC One to BBC Two.
The BBC News at Six had taken priority, forcing the match to move across channels.
Jack Draper is currently leading against Sebastian Baez
|Reuters
However, when supporters changed over, they were greeted with 3rd-ranked seed Alexander Zverev’s ongoing match against French player Arthur Rinderknech during their fourth-set tie break.
The blunder, which lasted multiple minutes and meant viewers were unable to watch the opening two games of Draper’s match, including his early break of Baez, left fans fuming.
Some took to X, with one saying: “I have waited all day to watch Jack Draper and you cut the match off! I try BBC2, red button and iPlayer and you idiots are only showing other matches.
#BBCTennis I have waited all day to watch Jack Draper and you cut the match off! I try BBC2, red button and iPlayer and you idiots are only showing other matches. This beggars belief. Can someone with a brain please sort this poor service out.
— JT (@JBT0108) July 1, 2025
“This beggars belief. Can someone with a brain please sort this poor service out?”
Another wrote: “Suppose to be Jack Draper watching at Wimbledon but BBC 2 showing Rinderknech v Zverev. Draper match missing the BBC coverage. Oh That England for ya.”
A third questioned: “What's happened to coverage of Jack Draper match !!!? It's not on BBC 2 ?????”
A fourth simply wrote: “Where is the Jack Draper match ????!!!!”
Presenter Claire Balding warned on the broadcaster that the game would then move back to BBC One at 7pm, after the news had concluded.
The match that viewers had to watch instead, Zverev against Rinderknech, has the potential to be a huge shock result.
Alexander Zverev is endured a difficult game against French no 8 Arthur Rinderknech
|Reuters
The world no 3 has gone the distance with the French no 8, in a game that has so far gone to a tie breaker in three of the four sets.
If the Frenchman were to beat Zverev, who has won 24 ATP titles in singles, it would provide one of the major shocks in the tournament so far.
It would mark the fourth top-10 seeded player to exit the tournament, following Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev’s early losses.
Three top-10 women’s seeds have also been kicked out, with the biggest surprise coming from Jessica Pegula, who fell to a 2-6, 3-6 defeat against Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Draper’s dominating start against Baez means he would likely be joining Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, who have booked their place in the next round of the tournament so far.
Novak Djokovic and Ben Shilton, along with Draper and Zverev, are yet to finish their opening round.