It’s that time of the year again, where the idea of strawberries and creams worms its way into our collective consciousness. Wimbledon will always hold a special place in my heart.
2025 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Ladies Wimbledon Championships
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England (Outdoor Grass)
30th June-13th July
There’s just something magical about this two-week window, where the entire sporting world is fixated on grass-court tennis. Let’s be honest, very few people are caught up in the permutations of this week’s Bad Homburg Open. This is basically the only time when it’s hip to watch traditional grass-court tennis. That niche quality has certainly helped contribute to its elevated prestige. Barbora Krejcikova emerged as the shock champion last year, becoming the 8th different champion in eight seasons. Will this year’s championships follow a similar trend?
This year’s event really feels like a lottery. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka has led the tour in most indexes, creating a nice buffer between herself and the other ladies in the rankings. However, she has shown vulnerability in the big moments, losing both of this year’s Grand Slam finals. Reigning French Open champ Coco Gauff will go into this tournament with plenty of confidence, aiming to win the ‘surface slam’ at the tender age of 21. Iga Swiatek is fighting for relevance after slipping to 8th in the current live rankings. Not especially celebrated for her grass-court nous, Swiatek will do well to rectify her current trajectory this coming fortnight. Elsewhere, the likes of Jesscia Pegula and Mirra Andreeva will look to build on excellent 2025 campaigns. This has the makings of a crazy slam, with many low seeds and unseeded players capable of going deep in the 2nd week.
Past Champions
2024: Barbora Krejcikova bt Jasmine Paolini (6-2, 2-6, 6-4)
2023: Marketa Vondrousova bt Ons Jabeur (6-4, 6-4)
2022: Elena Rybakina bt Ons Jabeur (3-6, 6-2, 6-2)
2021: Ashleigh Barty bt Karolina Pliskova (6-3, 6-2, 6-2)
2020: no event
2019: Simona Halep bt Serena Williams (6-2, 6-2)
Grass-court precursors this season
HSBC Championships (Queens): Tatjana Maria bt Amanda Anisimova (6-3, 6-4)
Libema Open: Elise Mertens bt Elena-Gabriela Ruse (6-3, 7-6)
German Open: Marketa Vondrousova bt Wang Xinyu (7-6, 4-6, 6-2)
Nottingham Open: McCartney Kessler bt Danyana Yastremska (6-4, 7-5)
Bad Homburg Open and Eastbourne Open: in progress
The Top Three- Aryna Sabalenka (1), Coco Gauff (2) and Jessica Pegula (3)
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka will be in a weird mental place going into this year’s Wimbledon Championships. She has enjoyed a magnificent season thus far, bringing a 42-8 record into this year’s championships. She leads the tour in wins (42), titles (3) and finals (7). Still, she lost the two most significant matches of the season, going down to Keys in Melbourne and Gauff in Paris. Sabalenka failed to deliver in her Wimbledon precursor, thrashed by Vondrousova in the semifinal stage. The two-time Wimbledon semifinalist is yet to win a grass-court title in her incredible career, finishing runner-up on two occasions (the most recent being the 2022 Rosmalen Open). I have always felt that her footwork looks a little cumbersome on the grass. In any event, Sabalenka has been incredibly consistent at Grand Slam level in recent seasons, reaching the semifinal stage or better in eleven of her last 14 Grand Slam appearances. She is going to take some beating this fortnight.
Coco Gauff is my personal bet to claim the title. Gauff is fresh off a 2nd Grand Slam triumph, taking down World No.1 Arya Sabalenka in the French Open final. Sabalenka said some boneheaded things in the aftermath of that final, stating that Gauff never won the title, she had lost it. I think that Gauff will be desperate to disprove that theory. Gauff announced herself to the world in this event, reaching the 4th round as a 15-year-old back in 2019. She is yet to reach a quarterfinal here, losing in the 4th round on two more occasions (including last season). In fact, Gauff is yet to reach a grass-court final in her career, suffering a somewhat embarrassing first-round defeat to Xinyu Wang in Berlin. I wouldn’t put too much stock into that Berlin upset defeat (it was her first outing since that sensational French Open triumph). The American will elevate her game for the world’s biggest tournament. She has worked tirelessly to correct her serving issues and has stabilized her forehand side. It feels like the momentum is well and truly with Gauff this year.
Jessica Pegula’s excellent form has gone under the radar this year, obscured by the performances of Sabalenka and Gauff. The durable baseliner has been extremely consistent this campaign, improving to 33-12 with her Bad Homburg quarterfinal win over Emma Navarro. Pegula enjoyed solid early-season form, reaching finals in Adelaide, Austin and Miami (she beat Kessler to claim the Austin title). Pegula has shown grass-court promise in the past, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2023 before winning in Berlin last year. Pegula has been one of the most impressive players in the world for some time but has generally failed to translate that into meaningful Grand Slam success (she lost her first six Grand Slam quarterfinal matches). But she managed to shake that Rublev-esque reptation by reaching last year’s US Open final. I think she is playing well enough to mount a credible threat this year.
My Top-ten Choices- Qinwen Zheng (5) and Madison Keys (6)
4th seeded Jasmine Paolini arrives in interesting form. The diminutive Italian lit up this tournament last year, finishing runner-up to Barbora Krejcikova. She struggled in the early portion of the season but came back into her own on clay, winning the WTA 1000 title in Rome. She will have felt disappointed after falling to Svitolina in their French Open 4th round clash. She was trounced by Jabeur in Berlin but has bounced back admirably and will feature in today’s Bad Homburg’s semifinals. A wonderfully clever player, Paolini definetly has a shot at a decent run. I just think her form has been slightly too inconsistent. Mirra Andreeva has essentially been this year’s Jasmine Paolini, winning back-to-back WTA 1000 events to thrust herself into the Grand Slam reckoning. I think she still needs time to develop into a credible Grand Slam prospect (these two-week odysseys require a specific kind of resilience).
Iga Swiatek is looking composed in Bad Homburg, defeating both Azarenka and Alexandrova in straight sets (that win against Azarenka brought up her 300th career WTA Tour victory). In fact, she brought up her 300 wins in just 359 matches (Serena Williams took 372). That little milestone will come as some relief to the embattled Pole. Swiatek hasn’t reached a final since last year’s French Open and I don’t think that is going change this fortnight. The more aggressive players rush Swiatek on these surfaces and affect her timing. Navarro is a tidy grass-court player but lacks the dynamism to mount a title run. Finally, Paula Badosa- despite her semifinal run at the Aussie Open- is easy to dismiss. She pulled out of her Berlin quarterfinal due to injury, and I can’t see her withstanding the physical toll of this event (especially after playing so much tennis already this season).
Qinwen Zheng is my first top-ten option. The Chinese megastar endured a tough start to the campaign, struggling in the absence of influential coach Pere Riba (who was recovering from surgery). She experienced an immediate uptick in form upon his return, reaching back-to-back quarterfinals during the esteemed ‘Sunshine Double’. She has looked more impressive as the season progressed, reaching the semifinals in Rome before a commendable quarterfinal run at the French Open. She looked strong in her Wimbledon precursor event, going down to Amanda Anisimova in the Queens semifinals. Though yet to reach a grass-court final in her career, Zheng has the power and shot-making ability to thrive on any surface (she just needs to iron out some of those serving kinks). Zheng is a combustible figure who has ruffled some feathers with recent actions (changing shoes on her opponent’s serve and blasting winners in warmup sessions). I like the fact that she has some attitude, and she could be one to watch this fortnight.
Reigning Aussie Open champ Madison Keys really comes to life in Grand Slam tennis. The big-serving American has reached the semifinal stage or better in seven slams (though never in this event). That doesn’t mean she isn’t an accomplished grass-court player. Keys has won three grass-court titles in her career (two in Eastbourne and one in Birmingham). She is also a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist. Her big serve and powerful, flat forehand make her a perennial threat in grass-court conditions. And this will be the first time that she arrives at SW19 as a Bonafide Grand Slam champion. Keys has remained consistent this campaign, reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells before quarterfinal runs in Miami and Paris. She looked imposing at Queens, going out to surprise-package Tajana Maria in the semifinal stage. She then went on to lose a tight first-round match against Vondrousova in Berlin. Keys reserves her best form for these big occasions and could be a major player this fortnight.
My Mid-tier Choices (11-20)- Amanda Anisimova (13) and Liudmila Samsonova (19)
Firstly, I just want to have a quick word on defending champ Barbora Krejcikova. Krejcikova has played just six tour-level matches this year: she was struck down by injury in the early portion of the season. The two-time Grand Slam champion is currently thriving in Eastbourne (she is due to play her semifinal later today). She hasn’t looked overly convincing this week, needing three sets against both Burrage and Dart (Gracheva withdrew from their quarterfinal clash). The Czech also struggled in Queens, suffering a shock first-round defeat to Rebecca Sramkova. I just think she looks undercooked going into her title defence.
Gritty American Amanda Anisimova is enjoying a bit of a career renaissance this season, bringing a 25-12 record into this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Anisimova has endured her off-court struggles over the years, taking some time away from court in 2023 due to mental burnout. Perhaps that decision is starting show dividends. Anisimova picked up the biggest title of her career earlier this year, winning her maiden WTA 1000 title in Qatar to propel herself back into the upper reaches of the game. The 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist enjoyed a fantastic start to her grass-court campaign, defeating the likes of Zheng and Navarro en route to a runner-up finish in Queens. She followed that up with a quarterfinal run in Berlin. Anisimova is an aggressive baseliner with excellent all-court awareness. Her combination of power and finesse makes her a great mid-tier option. My next choice is the woman who thrashed Anisimova in Berlin: Luidmila Samsonova.
26-year-old Russian Liudmila Samsonova has never been able to firmly establish herself amongst the elite players in the world. The hard-hitting Russian has battled for consistency (her movement has often been her downfall). She reached two WTA 1000 finals in 2023 but failed to build on that. She had a slow start to this campaign but burst into life on the eve of the French Open, finishing runner-up to Elina Svitolina in Strasbourg. She would go on to reach the 4th round of the French Open (impressive considering her overall clay-court issues). She underwhelmed at the Libema Open but showed her undoubted grass-court prowess with a solid semifinal run in Berlin. The big-serving Russian has won two grass-court titles in her career (Berlin in 2021 and Rosmalen last year). She looks like she is possibly peaking at the right moment, going 10-4 in her last four tournaments.
My Longshot Options (21 and over)- McCartney Kessler (32) and Marketa Vondrousova (unseeded)
McCartney Kessler has enjoyed a fantastic year thus far. The industrious American won in Hobart and would go on to finish runner-up in Austin. She suffered during the clay-court swing but has burst back into life on grass, pushing Zheng to three sets in Queens before an all-conquering, title-winning run in Nottingham (even more amazing when you realize she hadn’t won a tour-level grass-court match prior to this season). She was excellent in Nottingham, taking out top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia before bringing Katie Bouler’s unbeaten Nottingham run to an end. The former Florida Gator- who was ranked outside the top 200 at the beginning of last season- has managed to creep into this year’ s Wimbledon seeds. Sure, she has only gone beyond the first round in one previous slam. I think her solid baseline play could cause an upset or two.
2023 Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova is going to be a popular sleeper option this year. The statuesque Czech has struggled with injuries throughout her career (it’s a minor miracle that she won that 2023 Wimbledon crown). The gifted Czech struggled for rhythm in the early part of the season (a shoulder issue sidelined her for three months). She was initially scheduled to return in Rome but cancelled at the last moment. She finally returned to action at Roland Garros, picking up a creditable 3rd round run. She then produced heroics in Berlin, sweeping through a star-studded field to claim her first title since that glorious SW19 run. She went into giant-killing mode in Berlin, taking down Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys in straight-set wins. The crafty Czech has a remarkable skillset that is ideally suited to these brisk, low-bouncing conditions. She incorporates plenty of slice and has one of the most well-disguised drop-shots in world tennis.
