The Wimbledon Championships 2023 is set to take place from July 3 to July 16 at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, UK. The last year of the esteemed tournament was a remarkable one with Novak Djokovic winning his seventh Wimbledon men’s title which was his 21st Grand Slam crown.
In women’s singles, Elena Rybakina won her maiden major title at the Championships, beating Ons Jabeur in the final. The Kazakh stunned everyone with her powerful serve and clean hitting. Now, with the prestigious tournament just a few days away, here’s a look at the top five contenders for the women’s singles title this time. Have a glance:
#5 Iga Swiatek
The four-time major champion, Iga Swiatek is yet to give her best shot at the Championships. She had an average 2022 Wimbledon as the Polish player was eliminated in the third round by Alize Cornet. In 2021, Swiatek reached the Round of 16 but couldn’t go beyond.
This time, the 22-year old would look to impress everyone on the grass with her exceptional hitting ability. What made her fall into this list is that she is the top seed for the sixth consecutive major grand slam.
She is currently playing at her best and is one of the top contenders for the title. The number one player in the world right now will be hoping to have her hands on the esteemed trophy this time.
#4 Coco Gauff
Though Coco Gauff is yet to win a grand slam title, her performance in the past couple of years has been terrific. She has been consistent in Wimbledon, having reached the Round of 16 in 2019 and 2021, and also played well last year.
Coco Gauff playing a shot in one of her matches from the Championships
If we talk about the top 10 players, Gauff is in the third spot when it comes to the higher winning percentage at the Championships. Only Elena Rybakina (90.9%) and Petra Kvitova (74.5%) are above Gauff (72.7%). The American tennis player is one of the top contenders this time to lift the title after her tremendous show at the Auckland Open 2023.
#3 Ons Jabeur
The finalists of the last edition of the Wimbledon, Ons Jabeur did not want to lose this time. She was exceptional in the 2022 Championships, however, couldn’t win the iconic title. Her previous year’s performance was her best to date at Wimbledon. She is currently in the sixth spot in the rankings and would like to rise in the WTA rankings.
Undoubtedly, the Tunisian tennis player will be the one to watch out for. Moreover, two of her career titles out of four have come on grass which is a huge advantage. Jabeur won her first-ever title in 2021 Birmingham, also she became victorious this year in the Charleston Open.
#2 Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka is another contender for the Wimbledon title because of her splendid show at the Australian Open this year. She won her first major singles title which became one of the highlights of the year. The Belarusian also became victorious in the Adelaide International and Madrid Open this year.
Aryna Sabalenka posing with her Australian Open trophy earlier this year
With this kind of performance, she is easily one of the top names who can grab the beautiful trophy at the Championships. If she is able to do it, then it is going to be quite huge for Sabalenka.
The 25-year old reached the semi-final of the Wimbledon 2021 but was not allowed to play in the 2022 edition following the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. Currently, she is world number two and would look to dismantle her opponents this time.
#1 Elena Rybakina
The champion of the 2022 Wimbledon, Elena Rybakina is a third-ranked player in the world in women’s singles. She has been consistent after her glorious victory last year when she became the first-ever Kazakhstan player to win a title at a major.
Now, the pressure would be on Rybakina to defend her title at the Championships which is not easy. Earlier, Serena Williams was the only one to defend her title in 2016. The Kazakhstan ace had a tremendous record against Swiatek as she won 3-0 against her this season. On the other hand, it is 1-1 against Sabalenka in which she would like to take the lead in the head-to-head record if they meet.