Aryna Sabalenka is the world No.1 (Image: Getty)
Wimbledon is set to get underway on Monday and Express Sport have picked out 10 contenders for the women’s title…
Aryna Sabalenka
Back-to-back defeats in the Australian and French Open finals will hurt Sabalenka, but Wimbledon offers the perfect chance to bounce back and take the final step this season.
The world No.1 possess one of the most powerful games on the women’s tour and looks well-placed for a deep run in a draw light on previous winners.
Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals on both of her previous Wimbledon appearances in 2021 and 2023, but missed last year’s Championships due to a shoulder injury.
It is strong pedigree but she must avoid a repeat of her French Open collapse where weather and emotions got the better of her.
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The queen of Roland Garros arrives in London with plenty of confidence after her comeback victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
It was Gauff’s second Grand Slam title, and she now turns her focus to her weakest of the four Slams based off previous records.
Gauff has been to the fourth round three times at Wimbledon, but is yet to trouble the business end of the tournament – though she looks well placed to do that this year.
Grass may not necessarily be her strongest surface, but Gauff showed on clay that she is good enough to adapt to whatever is thrown her way.
Jessica Pegula
A pair of disappointing Slams in 2025 should not discount Jessica Pegula from being a real threat at Wimbledon.
The American reached the final of the US Open in 2024 and began June as the world No.3, but defeat to French wildcard Lois Boisson, world No.361, at Roland Garros showed the other side of her game.
She departed SW19 in the second round last year, losing to unseeded Xin Wang, so has unfinished business on grass; her best result is the quarter-finals in 2023 where she lost to the eventual champion, Marketa Vondrousova.
Jasmine Paolini
Last year’s beaten finalist returns to SW19 having established herself as one of the major forces at the top of the women’s game.
Paolini reached back-to-back finals at Roland Garros and then Wimbledon last year and will be better for another year on the tour as she looks to take the final step towards the Venus Rosewater Dish.
She packs plenty of punch into her shots despite standing at just 5ft 4in, making her well-suited to the grass, and arrives in good form after wining the Italian Open despite being unable to replicate her run to the final in Paris.
Jasmine Paolini was the runner-up in 2024 (Image: Getty)
One of the most dominant players on the women’s tour, Wimbledon has not seen the best of Iga Swiatek.
The Pole boasts four French Open titles, plus the 2022 US Open, but has just a sole quarter-final appearance for her SW19 troubles.
A pair of Slam semi-finals in 2025 is an ode to her consistency, though losing her grip on the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup in Paris will sting.
Swiatek will know she must adapt her clay-conquering game for grass, though few would bet against her having the talent and determination to do so.
Mirra Andreeva
The 18-year-old is almost a veteran on the WTA Tour despite her tender years and would be the youngest Wimbledon winner since compatriot Maria Sharapova in 2004.
Andreeva has been a regular in the top 10 this year thanks to victories at Indian Wells and Dubai, including a notable victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the former.
It demonstrated her ability to mix it with the very best, and she now arrives at Wimbledon with a real reputation.
The Russian reached the fourth round as a qualifier in 2023 but lost in the first round last year. She will be keen on hanging around for the second week this time around.
Qinwen Zheng
The Olympic champion has an abject record at Wimbledon but will look to put that right this year.
The 22-year-old has never been further than the third round and suffered back-to-back first round defeats in the last two years.
Yet 2024 was a breakout year for the Chinese star, with Olympic gold coming alongside a run to the finals of the Australian Open and WTA Finals.
None of those achievements were on grass, however, and it remains to be seen how much she can truly challenge on SW19’s manicured lawns.
Paula Badosa
The Spaniard reached a first Grand Slam semi-final in Australia in January, and she will hope to build on that breakthrough this summer.
Badosa has fought her way back into the top 10 after an injury-ridden few years, which had seen her drop out of the top 100 in April 2024. Using a protected ranking, she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon before making the US Open quarter-finals.
A third-round exit in Paris was a slight dent to her momentum, but Badosa’s game is well-suited to the grass of Wimbledon where she will hope to put her big serve to good use.
Elena Rybakina
The 2022 champion has a healthy record in SW19 and will look to make up for last year’s missed opportunity.
The Russian-born Kazakh was stunned by eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova in the semi-finals when a second Wimbledon title looked there for the taking, before struggling with injury for the rest of 2024.
Runs to the fourth round in Melbourne and Paris represent a steady showing this year, but grass is where her big hitting could truly come alive.
A first title in over a year came in Strasbourg in May, though Rybakina has been dogged by her continued connections with banned coach Stefano Vukov.
Madison Keys
The American was a popular winner of this year’s Australian Open, a reward for years of perseverance.
At 29, Keys was the oldest first-time Open Era winner in Melbourne and her subsequent form is indicative of an Indian summer to her career.
It is a remarkable turnaround after Keys dropped out of the top 50 as recently as 2021, and the American revealed self-acceptance and therapy have been key.
Wimbledon is the only Slam where she has not reached the semi-finals, though Keys looks in as good a form as ever to break that duck.
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk