Wimbledon favorites:
Corey Gauff
Cori Gauff got her 2024 season off to a flying start by winning the title in Auckland and reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open. However, the rest of the tough season was plagued by numerous setbacks. She returned to her best form on clay, reaching the quarterfinals in Stuttgart. Then she faced two consecutive semi-finals in Rome and Paris, but in both cases she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek.
Gauff opened her grass-court season in Berlin, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova and Ons Jabeur before losing to compatriot Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. The fourth round (2019 and 21) is Gauff’s best result at Wimbledon so far. Last year, she was eliminated in her first match by compatriot Sofia Kenin in three sets.
Ons Gill
Jabeur once reached the Wimbledon final two years in a row, but could never win it. In 2022, she defeated Mirjam Bjorklund, Katarzyna Kawa, Diane Parry, Elise Mertens, Marie Bouzkova and Tatyana Maria before losing to Elena Rybakina in the final.
The following year another successful tournament awaited him. She eliminated Magdalena Frech, Bai Zhuoxuan, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Arina Sabalenka, but lost to Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets in the final.
Jabeur has barely played in tournaments this season and only has 26 matches under his belt, with a 14-12 record. His best results were reaching the quarter-finals in Abu Dhabi, Madrid and Paris. She then also reached the quarter-finals in Nottingham and Berlin, which are played on grass. This year, Jabeur hopes to reach the Wimbledon final again and compete for the trophy.
Marketa Vondrousova
Defending champion Marketa Vondrouschova continues to progress steadily in the women’s rankings.
The Czech tennis player shocked the tennis community last year by winning Wimbledon. She eliminated Peyton Stearns, Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic, Marie Bouzkova, Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina before beating Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
This season, she reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart and the quarter-finals in Paris, Strasbourg and Dubai.
Arina Sabalenko
World number three Aryna Sabalenka started 2024 by defending her Australian Open title. In the final, they secured a convincing victory over Zheng Qingwen.
Sabalenka then lost form for the remainder of the hard court season, but managed to bounce back quickly on clay.
Sabalenka reached the final twice in a row in Madrid and Rome, but lost both times to Iga Swiatek. Roland Garros ended with a painful quarter-final defeat to Mirra Andreeva. Arina had stomach problems and could not play at full strength.
Last year, Sabalenka reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where she lost to Ons Jabeur. This year, she will try to take the next step and compete for her third Grand Slam title. Arina’s consistency at Grand Slam tournaments is commendable, having reached at least the quarter-finals in her last seven appearances.
Elena Rybakina
Rybakina made history in 2022 by defeating tennis players such as Coco Vandeweghe, Bianca Andrescu, Zheng Qingwen, Petra Martic, Ajla Tomljanovic and Simona Halep, and in the final she faced Ons Jabeur. She was unable to repeat her success from last year, as Jabeur took her revenge in the quarter-finals. Rybkina’s tennis is perfect for Wimbledon, but the question is whether she will be able to get back into shape, as she has been plagued by injuries of late.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
