Five women to watch at Wimbledon

Yahoo

4 hours ago

Wimbledon 2025
Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage details.
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There have been eight different women's singles champions at the past eight editions of Wimbledon.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka arrives this year as the favourite, having reached the past three Grand Slam finals.
However, Sabalenka has won just one of those three majors - and she has not played at Wimbledon since 2023.
The Belarusian, a big server with even bigger groundstrokes, should be well-suited to the grass courts at SW19.
But grass is an unpredictable surface - and there are plenty waiting in the wings to shock her.
Coco Gauff - the French Open champion
Coco Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final and again in this year's French Open showpiece [Reuters]
Age: 21 Country: United States Ranking: 2 Strength: Athleticism
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If Sabalenka is the title favourite, then French Open champion Gauff is one of the few players who can truly disrupt and frustrate her.
An outstanding mover, Gauff can get every ball she faces back, extending the rallies and drawing the errors out of the big hitters like Sabalenka.
Wimbledon was where Gauff broke through as a 15-year-old qualifier, reaching the fourth round at her first major.
Gauff lost her first - and only - grass-court match since her Paris triumph, but her title run there, where she came through a few tricky matches, will serve her in good stead.
Full of confidence, and backed by a slightly tweaked service motion to address her previous troubles, Gauff stands a good chance of going beyond round four for the first time.
Elena Rybakina - the former champion
Elena Rybakina beat Ons Jabeur in the 2022 Wimbledon final [Getty Images]
Age: 26 Country: Kazakhstan Ranking: 11 Strength: Serve
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Rybakina lifted her only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022.
She has a game seemingly made for grass, anchored by her huge serve and flat, punchy forehand. She leads the way in aces on the WTA Tour, having hit 235 across 40 matches.
It has not been easy for Rybakina since her Wimbledon triumph. She reached the Australian Open final in 2024 but illness, form and injury have plagued her since then. Former coach Stefano Vukov has also been banned from the WTA Tour following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards her.
She has also struggled with closing out matches, missing four match points in a three-set loss to Sabalenka in Berlin.
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But when everything clicks, Rybakina is still one of the best grass-court players on the tour, and a real title contender.
Marketa Vondrousova - the unseeded threat
Marketa Vondrousova reached the French Open singles final as a teenager in 2019 [Getty Images]
Age: 25 Country: Czech Republic Ranking: 73 Strength: Return
Vondrousova made history with her Wimbledon triumph in 2024, where she became the first unseeded player to win the women's singles.
Twelve months later, she was the first women's defending champion in 30 years to lose in the first round after an injury-plagued season.
Shoulder surgery, a lengthy rehab stint and several false starts followed for the Czech, who arrived at June's Berlin Open with just six wins in six months.
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She left as the champion, having won five matches in six days, including a stunningly dominant performance against Sabalenka.
Having previously been as high as six in the world, Vondrousova's current ranking means she will not be seeded at Wimbledon - and the top seeds will be watching nervously to make sure she does not land in their part of the draw.
Mirra Andreeva - the teenage star
Mirra Andreeva reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023 [Getty Images]
Age: 18 Country: Russia Ranking: 7 Strength: Redirection
Andreeva made history in February when, aged 17, she became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title with victory in Dubai.
She then made it two huge titles in almost as many weeks with a stunning comeback to shock Sabalenka and win Indian Wells.
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Andreeva has a framed photo of a tweet Andy Murray sent about her in 2024, where he praised her mental strength, and she has already achieved much as a teenager.
She can still battle with her emotions on court, having struggled against a partisan Paris crowd when playing home favourite Lois Boisson at Roland Garros.
But, equipped with a thudding backhand, Andreeva can redirect rallies at will, forcing opponents to go on the defensive, and has good anticipation of their next shot.
Madison Keys - the big-hitter
Madison Keys beat Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka - the top two players in the world - to lift the Australian Open title [Getty Images]
Age: 30 Country: United States Ranking: 6 Strength: Serve
Keys left Wimbledon in tears last year after injuring herself when serving for the match against eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini.
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She had to retire from the fourth-round match - but she arrives at SW19 this year as a Grand Slam champion after her superb Australian Open victory.
The American beat then world number two Iga Swiatek and two-time defending champion Sabalenka back-to-back to clinch her first, long-awaited major.
Shots may not always land where she intends, but Keys is one of the most exciting and watchable players on the WTA Tour.
A devastating ball-striker, Keys' huge serve and equally giant forehand will stand her in good stead on the grass courts.