Aryna Sabalenka
The World No. 1 has been in fantastic form this year winning three WTA titles. However, the Belarusian has fallen twice in major finals already, losing the Australian Open crown to Madison Keys and the French Open title to Coco Gauff. The grass court should suit her powerful playing style, but this is one Grand Slam she is yet to win, having only reached the semi-finals twice in previous years (2021, 2023).
Coco Gauff
The second-seeded American beat Sabalenka to the French Open title, but she faltered thereafter in her only grass-court match this year, losing to China’s Wang Xinyu at the Berlin Open. Nevertheless, Gauff, an outstanding mover on court, will back herself to not just outdo her best here (fourth-round finishes in 2019, 2021 and 2024), but to go all the way.
Iga Swiatek
The Polish ex-World No. 1 has fallen to eighth place after a tough start to the year. She ‘s yet to win any title and has lost 11 out of 43 matches, including the semi-final of the French Open — a tournament she has won four times — to Sabalenka. Despite having never won at Wimbledon, an impressive outing on the grass courts at the recent Bad Homburg Open showed that she means business.
Elena Rybakina
The Russian-born Kazakhstani ace is one of two players on this list to have won the coveted Wimbledon title (2022). Although her ranking has dipped to 11th, the big-hitting 26-year-old has consistently managed to elevate her game in this tournament, reaching the quarter-finals in 2023 and suffering a narrow loss to eventual champion Krejcikova in the semi-final last year.
Barbora Krejcikova
The Wimbledon women’s singles title is tough to defend, with no player having successfully done so since Serena Williams in 2016. This year, the onus is on the Czech to change that. But, following her win over Jasmine Paolini in the final last year, Krejcikova’s form has plummeted due to injuries (she has played only four games on the WTA tour this year). But, if the current World No. 17 can keep fit, she’ll have a great shot at defending her crown.
