Rybakina & Paolini make the cut; Ostapenko knocked out: 2024 Wimbledon Women’s Singles Quarter-Final Roundup

The absolute favorites to win the 2024 Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, are already eliminated from the Championships. Swiatek’s 21-match unbeaten streak on the tour was broken surprisingly by Yulia Putintseva in the third round while Gauff was eliminated by countrywoman Emma Navarro in pre-quarterfinals.

The grass court Major turned out to be forgettable for Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter as well but managed to get a new star in Lulu Sun. Thus, without further ado let’s take a look at the 2024 Wimbledon women’s singles quarter-final matches: 

Jasmine Paolini vs Emma Navarro

Jasmine Paolini is enjoying a breakthrough year in 2024. Paolini, who never reached the second round of a Grand Slam before 2024, has turned out to be a breakthrough star at the age of 28. At the 2024 Australian Open, she reached the fourth round and broke into the top 50. Nevertheless, she outplayed the likes of Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva to reach the final of the 2024 French Open, where she lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek. 

Paolini will become the new WTA World No. 5 after the new rankings are released on Monday.

Continuing her brilliant form, the 28-year-old reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. With resounding victories over Bianca Andreescu, Greet Minnen and Sara Sorribas, Paolini has been cruising in the grass court Major. However, she had a huge challenge to overcome in the last eight, when she faced America’s Emma Navarro. 

The American reached the quarterfinals by defeating the likes of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and second seed Coco Gauff. However, the WTA World No. 17 failed to challenge Paolini at the Centre Court. Both tennis stars had 12 unforced errors; however, Paolini smashed 19 winners compared to Navarro’s six. 

The Italian also dominated the game on the net with a success rate of 94 per cent. Thus, with the help of five breaks of serves, the 28-year-old Italian secured a spot in the semifinals of the Wimbledon with a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory in only 58 minutes. After Rybakina, Paolini is the second-highest-ranked player remaining in the women’s singles event. 

Lulu Sun vs Donna Vekic

The finding of the Championships, Lulu Sun, faced Croatian veteran Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Wimbledon. Ranked 123rd in the world, Sun played only one Grand Slam match in her professional career before the  2024 Wimbledon. However, she had a campaign to remember at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. 

After making her way into the main draw as a qualifier, the New Zealand-Swiss tennis player stunned 2024 Australian Open runner-up Qinwen Zheng in the first round. Additionally, she defeated Home Hope Emma Raducanu on her Centre Court debut in the fourth round in a three-set thriller. In the quarterfinals, Sun was up against Donna Vekic, who ended the Wimbledon campaign of Paula Badosa and Dayana Yastremska in her initial matchups. 

Sun managed to take an early lead in the first set and eventually turned the lead into a 5-7 win. However, Vekic’s experience emerged as her secret weapon as she dominated the other two sets on her serve. Both tennis stars broke each other’s serve four times; however, Vekic did that in more crucial moments, eventually winning the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in two hours and nine minutes. A huge challenge awaits her in the next round as she’ll face Italy’s Paolini. 

Elena Rybakina vs Elina Svitolina

Currently ranked 21 by the WTA, Elina Svitolina is yet to win a title in 2024

Elena Rybakina’s year on the tour has been quite eventful. She has won three WTA titles but has also missed the Indian Wells Masters, the Italian Open and Eastbourne International. In addition to that, she withdrew from the 2024 Berlin Ladies Open in the quarterfinals against Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka due to an illness. However, at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, she looked unfazed by any health issues. 

On the way to the quarterfinals, she only lost one set, which happened in the second round against German veteran Laura Siegemund. In addition to that, she is also the highest-ranked player remaining in the women’s singles event. She faced Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who pulled an upset in the third round by eliminating two-time runner-up Ons Jabeur. 

The match was expected to be a contest of nip and tuck. However, it barely lived up to the expectations of the tennis world. Rybakina, with seven aces, massively dominated that match. The Kazakh tennis star had a winning percentage of 85% on her first serve and she also converted four out of the six break points. Meanwhile, Svitolina made four double errors and scored only one ace. 

The 29-year-old’s game declined dramatically in the second set. In the seventh game, she made a double fault, which eventually closed all the doors of possibilities for advancement. Rybakina made 15 unforced errors and scored 28 winners. On the other side, Svitolina came up with eight winners, making the same amount of unforced errors. The former WTA World No. 3 gave a disappointing performance in an important match, losing 6-3, 6-2 in only an hour and two minutes. 

Jelena Ostapenko vs Barbora Krejcikova

The 2024 Wimbledon has been unpredictable, especially in the women’s singles event. Jelena Ostapenko, who famously got the support of American rapper Lil Wayne faced the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals. Dropping only 15 games, Ostapenko was nearly flawless in her initial four matches at the grass-court Grand Slam. She defeated the likes of Ajla Tomljanovic, Bernarda Pera and Yulia Putintseva comfortably and cruised into the last eight. 

Meanwhile, Krejcikova faced a tough route to the quarters, but she resisted the pressure and emerged victorious, especially against America’s Danielle Collins in the fourth round. Facing 13th seed Ostapenko in the quarterfinals, she broke the Latvian tennis star’s serve in the third game of the first set. Just continuing to save her serve, she sealed the first set 6-4 in 32 minutes. 

However, Ostapenko exhibited her fighting intent as soon as the second set got underway. Krejcikova lost her serve in the fourth game and the Latvian took a lead of 2-4. However, when it seemed that the WTA World No. 14 would force the match into the decider, she gave away her lead by losing two consecutive games on service. 

Nevertheless, the match was forced into a tiebreak, which eventually went in the favour of Krejcikova. The Czech tennis star won the match in one hour and 42 minutes with the scoreline reading 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). She will face former champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of the 2024 Championships.