By Chiranjit Ojha
(Reuters) -The following are five contenders for the Wimbledon women’s title with the Championships set to begin on Monday.
ARYNA SABALENKA (BELARUS)
* World ranking: 1
Sabalenka enjoyed a dominant 2024, capturing two Grand Slam titles but the Wimbledon crown continued to elude the 27-year-old as she was forced to pull out of the grasscourt major at the last minute due to a shoulder injury.
The three-times Grand Slam champion, who boasts a total of 20 tour-level titles, is yet to claim a trophy on grass despite having the power game – a booming serve and blistering forehand – perfectly suited to the sport’s fastest surface.
Sabalenka’s runs to the semi-finals in her previous two Wimbledon campaigns in 2021 and 2023 highlight her consistency on the big stage but she arrives at the All England Club having suffered heartbreak in the Australian and French Open finals.
Although she would have preferred to break her grasscourt duck, Sabalenka will be content with reaching the Berlin semi-finals in her only tune-up event before her latest quest for glory on the manicured lawns of London.
COCO GAUFF (UNITED STATES)
* World ranking: 2
Gauff proved she was no one-hit wonder when she won her second Grand Slam title by outlasting Sabalenka to capture the French Open title earlier this month.
However, the 2023 U.S. Open champion’s displays on grass have been inconsistent.
Gauff’s stellar run to the Wimbledon fourth-round as a prodigious teenager in 2019 sharpened the focus on her career but she is yet to cross that hurdle at the year’s third major, falling short at the same stage in 2021 and 2024.
The 21-year-old American has not reached a WTA final on grass and the youngest player in the world’s top 10 was given a reminder of the difficulties ahead after Wang Xinyu brought her crashing down to earth in her first match in Berlin.
But adversity extracts the best out of Gauff and she proved it at Roland Garros by shrugging off heartbreaking final defeats in Madrid and Rome to emerge triumphant, giving herself the momentum needed to make a big Wimbledon statement.
IGA SWIATEK (POLAND)
* World ranking: 8
Dubbed the ‘Queen of Clay’ after winning four French Open titles, Swiatek is no stranger to occasional struggles on grass like her rivals Sabalenka and Gauff despite having the ability to wrestle opponents into submission.
Swiatek has never played a WTA final on grass and her best display at Wimbledon came in 2023 when she reached the quarter-finals – jarring notes that the 24-year-old will be eager to quickly erase from her otherwise glittering resume.
The former world number one has slipped in the rankings without a tournament win this year after clinching five titles in 2024 and she has had to manage the distraction of a doping case for which she served a short ban last year.
Her quest for a fifth Roland Garros crown ended in a semi-final defeat by Sabalenka and she will be motivated to defy her own expectations to win a sixth Grand Slam title and establish herself as an all-court ace after winning the 2022 U.S. Open.
ELENA RYBAKINA (KAZAKHSTAN)
* World ranking: 11
Before winning Wimbledon in 2022, Rybakina had not lifted a WTA trophy on grass and although the 26-year-old is yet to reach another final on the surface since, she has the weapons to do maximum damage on her day.
She always manages to step up her level at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarter-finals in 2023 and fell to a narrow loss in last year’s semi-finals to an inspired Barbora Krejcikova who went on to be crowned champion.
The Russian-born Kazakh, who is the first player from the Asian nation to win a Grand Slam title, may not like the glare that comes with major glory but her powerful hitting puts her firmly in the spotlight at the grasscourt major.
Having fallen out of the top 10, Rybakina will feel less pressure and look to go about her business quietly in a bid to replicate her breakthrough run in 2022.
BARBORA KREJCIKOVA (CZECH REPUBLIC)
* World ranking: 17
No woman has successfully defended the Wimbledon singles title since Serena Williams in 2016, with the event producing seven different champions in the previous seven editions, and Krejcikova will sense the unique opportunity facing her.
The odds may be stacked against the Czech player as she bids to gain momentum following a spell of injuries but the 29-year-old never backs down from a challenge, as she showed by winning the title at Wimbledon as the 31st seed.
With plenty of attention likely to be on compatriot and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova following her shock Berlin triumph despite going into the tournament ranked 164th, two-times major champion Krejcikova will be content flying under the radar.
Motivation will not be in short supply for Krejcikova, with Wimbledon carrying special significance as the site of her late mentor Jana Novotna’s 1998 triumph.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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