6 'One Slam Wonders' who can break the streak at Wimbledon 2024 ft. Emma Raducanu, Jelena Ostapenko
Wimbledon is not just one of the most significant tournaments in the international tennis arena but also one that has produced and validated some of the most well-known tennis champions of the Open Era. However, while winning Grand Slams pushes most tennis players to do better, this year's Wimbledon features quite a few 'One Slam Wonders' aiming for their second major title and hoping for London to advance the same.
It has been a while since many of these prominent names within the tennis fraternity added another Grand Slam to their names and despite the competition that comes from those leading the rankings and the current tennis atmosphere, there are some tennis players who can break their streak this year.
With that said, let's take a look at a few 'One Slam Wonders' who can break their streak next month.
#6 Bianca Andreescu
Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu won the US Open back in 2019 and with a career-high ranking of World No. 4, she is the highest-ranked Canadian woman tennis player. Additionally, she won the Canadian Open the same year by defeating Serena Williams on both occasions.
While Andreescu has three titles to her name, owing to injuries and inactivity stemming from the same, it has been a while since the Canadian could win another title.
She played her first final in two years at the 2024 Libema Open and with a WTA ranking of 165, the Canadian returns to Wimbledon after a third-round loss followed by a 10-month break the previous year.
#5 Elena Rybakina
Kazakhstani tennis player Elean Rybakina won Wimbledon back in 2022 and with a career-high ranking of World No. 3, she is the first tennis player from her country to be a part of the top 10 and the first to win a major title.
Currently ranked No. 4, Rybakina has eight titles to her name, and with three titles so far, she has had a good season this year. However, in terms of winning Grand Slams, Rybakina has been unable to replicate her victory in London two years back and clinch another major.
Due to her fairly good performance this year, the Kazakh has a chance at breaking her slamless streak this July, where she is the fourth seed. However, concerns about her fitness and other factors remain a major barrier
#4 Sloane Stephens
American tennis player Sloane Stephens won her first major title on home soil back in 2017 and the former US Open Champion has seven WTA titles in total in addition to a career-high ranking of World No. 3.
Stephens rose to prominence after defeating her compatriot and former World No. 1 Serena Williams at the semifinals of the 2013 Australian Open and three years later, started winning more titles on tour and entered the top 10 ranking soon after. However, with a current ranking of World No. 45, fewer titles post-COVID-19, and a slamless record since her US Open victory, the 31-year-old is yet to win another Grand Slam.
The American won one out of her eight titles and her first since 2022 in Rouen, France, and is one of the contenders at Wimbledon who can break their 'One Slam Wonder' streak this year.
#3 Jelena Ostapenko
Former World No. 5, Ostapenka is a Latvian tennis player who won the 2017 French Open, a title that made her the first one from her country to win a major and the first unseeded player to win at Roland Garros in the Open Era.
Ostapenko has also held a career-high ranking of World No. 7 in doubles and has seven WTA titles in both doubles and singles to her name. A former Junior Wimbledon champion, the Latvian is yet to win another major singles title following her 2017 victory or one in the doubles category.
Her best performance at Wimbledon so far has been reaching the semifinals in the singles category in 2018 and in doubles in 2022. Ostapenko is the 13th seed at Wimbledon this year, which comes after a runner-up trophy at the Australian Open in the doubles category and two WTA 500 titles.
Therefore, with a fairly decent run so far and a top 20 seeding, Ostapenko is another tennis player who has the chance of adding a second trophy to her list of Grand Slams accomplishments.
#2 Barbora Krejčíková
Czech tennis player Barbora Krejcikova has won 10 major doubles titles including a career Super Slam and in addition to her phenomenal performance in the doubles category, the Czech also won the French Open in 2021. Therefore, besides Venus Williams, she is one of only two current female tennis players to have won a major championship in each of the three categories of singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
Adding to her list of achievements, she won the gold medal in women's doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and has achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 1 in doubles and World No. 2 in singles. The last Grand Slam Krejcikova won was the 2023 Australian Open women's doubles title. However, due to injuries, the Czech has been unable to add another title to her list of accomplishments, and her only major singles victory remains the 2021 French Open.
Continuing with her relatively limited success in singles, she began 2024 with a quarterfinal loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open and a first-round exit at the French Open. Moreover, injuries forced her to withdraw from major WTA 1000 events.
The 28-year-old will be seen participating in Wimbledon as the 31st seed but whether she's able to turn the tables on her losing streak and bag her second Grand Slam victory in the singles category remains to be seen.
#1 Emma Raducanu
British tennis player Emma Raducanu made history in 2021 by winning the US Open which made her the first British woman since Virginia Wade to win a major singles title and the first qualifier in the Open Era to do the same.
However, after achieving the said feat and a career-high ranking of World No. 10, Raducanu has been struggling with her form, injuries, and the treatment accompanying the same, something that has been hampering her seemingly bright career. Therefore, currently ranked World No. 168 and with a limited number of victories to her name, Radacanu spent a major chunk of the previous year struggling with injuries and missed the grass-court season last year.
However, the Brit has received a wild card entry for Wimbledon and as she works her way forward to the top 100 and a second major title, the 21-year-old is optimistic about her performance ahead. Speaking about the same, she said (via Sky Sports):
"I'm just really into it at the moment. I just love the sport, I love tennis. It's taken over me and I've really rekindled a light in the fire inside of me."
She added, "I'm really grateful to have this feeling again because it's something that I feel I've been missing in a way for the last few years and I haven't felt this good about my tennis - just excited about it and passionate - for a long, long time."
As the tennis fraternity awaits and looks forward to a fired-up and well-rested Radacanu's performance in London, the list of 'One Slam Wonders' also includes names such as World No. 2 Coco Gauff who won the US Open Championship last year, and Czech tennis player Marketa Vondrousuva who is the defending champion. However, being relatively recent Grand Slam winners, the two are excluded from the list.