Stan Smith defeated Ilie Năstase in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1972 Wimbledon Championships. It was his first Wimbledon singles title, and his second and last major singles title. Due to rain washing out the final Saturday when the final was due to take place, the final became the first match in Wimbledon history to take place on a Sunday. Not until 10 years later in 1982 did Wimbledon men's singles finals start being deliberately scheduled for Sunday. Two-time reigning champion John Newcombe was prevented from participating due to the International Lawn Tennis Federation ban on World Championship Tennis-contracted players competing in its tournaments.

Seeds

🇺🇸 Stan Smith (champion) Ilie Năstase (final) 🇪🇸 Manuel Orantes (semifinals) 🇪🇸 Andrés Gimeno (second round) Jan Kodeš (semifinals) 🇫🇷 Pierre Barthès (fourth round) Bob Hewitt (first round) Alex Metreveli (quarterfinals)

Qualifying

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Bottom half

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8