Ukrainian counterpuncher Elina Svitolina cruised into the 3rd round of this year’s championships, brushing aside Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Svitolina played high-percentage tennis, hitting 13 winners to 12 unforced errors while Sasnovich tried to force the initiative. Svitolina has looked excellent in a week full of surprises, dropping just ten games in her two matches.
2025 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England (Outdoor Grass-court)
Selected 3rd Round Matches- 4th July
Elina Svitolina (14) 0.61 vs Elise Mertens (24) 1.28
The Ukrainian really came to life during this year’s clay-court swing, going 16-3 on the sticky stuff. She has played well at Grand Slam level this season, reaching the quarterfinals in Melbourne and Paris. Though yet to reach a grass-court final in her glittering career, the former World No.4 has shone at SW19, reaching the quarterfinal stage or better in three of her last four trips. The defensive baseliner has made some crucial adjustments to her game in recent years, looking to be slightly more aggressive on the quicker surfaces. Svitolina is a very canny operator who can quickly adapt to different challenges (little wonder she has reached 13 Grand Slam quarterfinals).
24th seeded Belgian Elise Mertens has developed into a real sleeper option this year. The Belgian started the season in excellent fashion, losing to McCartney Kessler in the Hobart final. She would eventually go on to claim her 9th singles title, defeating Ann Li in the Singapore Open title. She produced some solid doubles performances during the clay-court swing before winning a 10th career singles title at the Libema Open (her maiden grass-court crown). Mertens underperformed at Bad Homburg (more on that later) but has looked more assured at SW19, where she has twice reached the 4th round in the past. She eased past Linda Fruhvirtova in her opener before coming from a set down against Ann Li. The versatile baseliner was particularly impressive on serve, winning 81% of her first-serve points.
The Verdict: Svitolina to win in three at 3.3- Svitolina leads this fantastic rivalry 5-3, winning both of their previous grass-court meetings. Crucially, Svitolina won in straight sets at the recent Bad Homburg Open. Both ladies look in good form and this should be a fascinating clash, with plenty of long, extended rallies. I think that Svitolina’s added aggression may be the thing that propels her to victory.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) 0.25 vs Emma Radacanu 2.85
This is the very definition of a blockbuster 3rd round clash. Aryna Sabalenka must be thrilled with the way things have panned out thus far (the Belarusian World No.1 is the only top-five seed remaining in the draw). This looks like the perfect opportunity for Sabalenka to finally claim this elusive title (she is a two-time semifinalist). Sabalenka never had it all her own way in her 2nd round clash with Marie Bouzkova, ultimately outmuscling the Czech 7-6, 6-4. Bouzkova outsmarted Sabalenka in the early stages of the match and served for the first set at 6-5. But Sabalenka’s relentless aggression ultimately broke Bouzkova’s resistance. The Belarusian ended the match with 41 winners to just 18 unforced errors. She won an incredible 88% of her first-serve points and 80% of her forays to the net. In the process, Sabalenka improved to 29-4 against players ranked outside the top 20 this year. She will be looking to improve to 30-4 as she takes on home-favourite Emma Radacanu.
2021 US Open champ Emma Radacanu is finally starting to recapture a glimmer of the magic that propelled her to that unheralded Grand Slam victory. The elegant Brit was magnificent against 2023 Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova, bringing the Berlin champ’s six-match winning streak to an end with an authoritative 6-3, 6-3 victory. She served decisively, winning 68% of her first-serve points (she was only broken once). She hit plenty of brilliant passing shots in front of rapturous home support (she hit 11 winners to Vondrousova’s five in the 2nd set). Radacanu has endured some well-publicized struggles with form and injury (not to mention the entire stalker saga). But she appears to have found some semblance of consistency this year, reaching a maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Miami before winning three successive clay-court matches for the first time in Rome. She recently reclaimed the British No.1 crown with a quarterfinal run in Queens. Radacanu will be looking to reach the 4th round for the 3rd time in her career, matching her runs in 2021 and 2024.
The Verdict: Sabalenka to win in three sets at 3- Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 1-0, winning in straight sets at Indian Wells last year. Sabalenka’s relentless power and depth of shot should be too much for Radacanu to handle. However, the atmosphere during that Radacanu-Vondrousova match was electric and Sabalenka may need to keep her composure. Sabalenka hasn’t looked unbeatable this year and Radacanu’s smooth groundstrokes could help her nick a set.
