Wimbledon 2024: 5 favorites to win the women's singles title ft. Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka
The 2024 Wimbledon Championships are right around the corner, with main draw action set to commence on July 1. A host of stars from the WTA Tour are set to battle it out in an open field with no outright favorites for the crown.
2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka enter SW19 with the odds in their favor to win the elusive prize. Top seeds Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are also in with a shout despite the grass not being their favorite surface.
Others in contention include defending champion Marketa Vondrousova, two-time runner-up Ons Jabeur, Jelena Ostapenko, Naomi Osaka, and others.
On that note, here's a look at our top five contenders for the Venus Rosewater Dish at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships:
#5 Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff kicked off her 2024 season in scintillating fashion by picking up the title in Auckland and reaching the last four at the Australian Open. The rest of the hardcourt swing, however, saw plenty of hiccups. She rediscovered her best form on the clay, reaching the quarterfinals in Stuttgart. Back-to-back semifinal appearances in Rome and Paris awaited her, but she fell short on both occasions to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Gauff kicked off her grasscourt campaign in Berlin last week, getting the better of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Ons Jabeur before going down to compatriot and good friend Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
The fourth round (2019 & '21) is the farthest Gauff has reached in SW19 up until now. She was knocked out in her opener last year by compatriot Sofia Kenin in three sets. Gauff, the current World No. 2, can make a deep run at Wimbledon. Whether she will, only time will tell.
#4 Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabeur has made the finals of the previous two editions but has failed to cross the final hurdle. In 2022, she beat Mirjam Bjorklund, Katarzyna Kawa, Diane Parry, Elise Mertens, Marie Bouzkova, and Tatjana Maria before going down to Elena Rybakina in the summit clash in a tight three-set contest 6-3, 2-6, 2-6.
Another successful run awaited her the following year. She saw off Magdalena Frech, Bai Zhuoxuan, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina, and Aryna Sabalenka, but once again stumbled in the final to Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.
Jabeur has scarcely featured on the tour this season and has compiled a 14-12 match record. Her best results are runs to the last eight in Abu Dhabi, Madrid, and Paris. She's also made consecutive quarterfinal appearances in the two tournaments she's played on the grass in Nottingham and Berlin and will look to carry the same momentum into SW19.
Could third time be the charm with Ons Jabeur at SW19? Only time will tell.
#3 Marketa Vondrousova
Defending champion Marketa Vondrousova has impressed everybody watching over the last couple of years as she continues her steady rise in the women's rankings.
The Czech star sent shockwaves in the tennis fraternity last year when she claimed the crown. She saw off Peyton Stearns, Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic, Marie Bouzkova, Jessica Pegula, and Elina Svitolina before ultimately seeing off sixth seed Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to seal her first-ever Grand Slam championship.
Vondrousova has seen plenty of great moments on the tour this season but is yet to translate that into a trophy. She's reached the last four in Stuttgart, and the last eight in Paris, Strasbourg, and Dubai.
#2 Aryna Sabalenka
World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka began 2024 in the best possible fashion by defending her crown at the Australian Open with an emphatic win over Zheng Qinwen in the final. She saw a dip in form during the rest of the hardcourt swing but managed to quickly turn things around on the clay.
Sabalenka made back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome but fell short to Iga Swiatek on both occasions. Her French Open campaign on the contrary came to a painful end in the quarterfinals against Mirra Andreeva, as she fought through a stomach illness to merely get through the encounter.
Sabalenka made the semifinals in Wimbledon last year where she went down to Ons Jabeur in a gripping three-setter. She will be eager to go one step further this year and contest for her third Grand Slam crown. Her consistency in the Majors must be lauded, having reached the quarterfinals or above in her last seven appearances.
Sabalenka could be in with a serious shout for the trophy if she raises her level when it matters most.
#1 Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina enters the 2024 Wimbledon Championships as the firm favorite to lift the women's crown given her prowess on the grass and exploits at the venue in the past.
Rybakina etched her name in the history books in 2022 with her historic title run. She beat the likes of CoCo Vandeweghe, Bianca Andreescu, Zheng Qinwen, Petra Martic, Ajla Tomljanovic, and Simona Halep before seeing off Ons Jabeur in the finals. She failed to replicate her run last year, losing in the quarterfinals to Jabeur in a re-match of their final from the previous year.
A real force to be reckoned with when she's playing her best tennis, we could very likely see Rybakina lift her second Major title if she regains her best health and match fitness ahead of the event.