(Reuters) – Six different women have won the Wimbledon title in the last six editions and as the 2023 tournament begins on July 3 there is still no clear favourite for the grasscourt Grand Slam.
World number one Iga Swiatek has conquered clay and hardcourts but the Pole has yet to taste success on grass having never reached the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
Big-serving Elena Rybakina will aim to retain her title but other players have emerged as serious contenders:
ARYNA SABALENKA (BELARUS)
* World ranking: 2
The big-hitting Belarusian has polished her game this year and become less erratic with her shot-making, which helped her win the Australian Open in January.
The 25-year-old has also reduced what seemed to be an insurmountable gap to world number one Swiatek in the rankings during the claycourt swing, beating her in the Madrid final, but was stunned in the French Open semis by Karolina Muchova.
Sabalenka will look to make up for lost time after missing last year’s tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a ‘special military operation’, and she was in the spotlight at Roland Garros when her stance on the war was questioned.
Sabalenka has distanced herself from Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko. The world number two will have to compete under a neutral flag at Wimbledon.
ONS JABEUR (TUNISIA)
* World ranking: 6
After Jabeur lost in the French Open quarter-finals, she had only one thing on her mind – the grass season.
Jabeur said she was a little rusty at Roland Garros after a string of injuries this year but the determined Tunisian trailblazer vowed to work harder during the grasscourt swing.
Jabeur came close last year when she took the first set in her loss to Rybakina in the Wimbledon final but the 28-year-old is inching closer to becoming the first African woman and the first Arab to win a Grand Slam singles title.
After her loss at Roland Garros, Jabeur said grass suits her unorthodox style better and she could not wait to get started with tune-up tournaments in Berlin and Eastbourne.
“I’m hoping to get the title in Wimbledon, I’m dreaming about it. It’s something that I always wanted,” she said.
COCO GAUFF (UNITED STATES)
* World ranking: 7
Coco Gauff may still only be 19 but the American has come a long way since she was a wiry teenager who made her Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon in 2019.
The American stunned the field when she upset five-time champion Venus Williams in straight sets en route to the fourth round and has since moved into the top 10 where she has been a mainstay since September.
Now armed with one of the fastest serves on the women’s tour, a potent weapon on grass, Gauff has already set her eyes on Wimbledon after losing to Swiatek at Roland Garros.
“Carrying it into the next Grand Slam, I’m excited. I like the grass. I have good results there,” Gauff said.
“I think I can improve a lot and I’m just looking forward to getting better and improving.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
