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The dust has settled on the field for the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, with the draw being announced on Friday. Top seed Iga Swiatek and reigning champion Elena Rybakina lead the women's draw at this year's tournament.
The duo, however, will expect a tough fight from a jam-packed field including the Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka. Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams, the only active players to have lifted the Wimbledon crown multiple times, also feature, as do a host of underdogs vying to succeed on the biggest stage.
With main-draw action set to begin on Monday, here is a look at the prospects of the biggest names in the fray:
1st quarter: Iga Swiatek faces Coco Gauff test in Wimbledon pursuit
Top seeds: [1] Iga Swiatek, [7] Coco Gauff, [11] Daria Kasatkina and [14] Belinda Bencic
Dark horse: Venus Williams
Barring a tricky opening round against the in-form Zhu Lin, top seed Iga Swiatek will be pretty happy looking at her early rounds. Both Zhu and Swiatek will come into the tournament with a grasscourt semifinal at least to show for.
Zhu, who had her big breakthrough reaching the second week Down Under this year, possesses big groundstrokes needed to do well on grass and could ask a few questions of the top seed.
If Swiatek were to come through that test, things would look manageable. She should still watch out for Petra Martic and Harriet Dart up until the fourth round, where a returning Belinda Bencic awaits. When hitting the ball at her flattest best, the Swiss can be a delight to watch on grass. Her fitness after the recent injury, however, remains a major concern.
Coco Gauff was the breakout star on her debut at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, but her progress has somewhat stagnated at the Slam since. Up against a Major winner in Sofia Kenin right off the bat, she finds herself in hot water.
Another blockbuster clash featuring five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina anchors the section, with the winner likely to meet Gauff/Kenin in the third round.
Daria Kasatkina and Victoria Azarenka have similarly straightforward paths to the third round at the other end of the section. Neither, however, has inspired enough confidence in their abilities to topple the likes of Gauff or even the resurgent trio of Svitolina, Kenin and Williams.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek def. Elina Svitolina
2nd quarter: Jessica Pegula, Carolina Garcia look to rediscover winning formula
Top seeds: [4] Jessica Pegula, [5] Caroline Garcia, [12] Veronika Kudermetova and [15] Liudmila Samsonova
Dark horse: Veronika Kudermetova
Jessica Pegula and Caroline Garcia find themselves on a collision course in the second quarter. Their paths, however, are fraught with names that have far outperformed them on grass in recent times, and in some cases even in the distant past.
The American opens against countrywoman Lauren Davis, but could face stiff resistance from the likes of Rebeka Masarova (given she recovers from her tumble in Bad Homburg), Lesia Tsurenko and Liudmila Samsonova.
Both Tsurenko and Samsonova employ gung-ho brands of tennis, and on their day, can outhit any opponent off the court. Pegula will need to use her early matches to fix the chinks in her armour or she risks being blown away in the face of such power hitting.
Caroline Garcia, who has issues with her shoulder of late, will also need to find her stride quickly if she wishes to survive the likes of Veronika Kudermetova and Donna Vekic.
Their big serve and consistent baseline games have seen Kudermetova and Vekic oust Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina in warm-up tournaments this year. That's a dose of confidence heading into Wimbledon if there ever was one.
Fans can also fancy an ace fest from the section, given all three women feature in the top-11 ace leaders for the season — having hit 599 service winners combined.
As an aside, keep an eye out on just what Anett Kontaveit has to deliver in her swansong. The former World No. 2 opens against Lucrezia Stefanini and could play Garcia in the third round.
Prediction: Donna Vekic def. Liudmila Samsonova
3rd quarter: Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur and Petra Kvitova lead the quarter of death
Top seeds: [3] Elena Rybakina, [6] Ons Jabeur, [9] Petra Kvitova and [13] Beatriz Haddad Maia
Dark horse: Ons Jabeur
The two finalists from last year, a two-time champion and multiple other Slam winners make the third quarter the one with no respite.
Ons Jabeur has been awarded some breathing room early, and she would be thankful for the last. The runner-up from last year has had a sub-par season on grass to say the least and could use some match practice to finetune her slices and dropshots.
The Tunisian's first real test — a big one — will come in the fourth round, where she is projected to take on 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. At 75.8%, Kvitova's win percent on grass is second only to Venus Williams among active players.
Kvitova has also won two of her last three grasscourt tournaments (Berlin 2023 and Eastbourne 2022) and if tuned in on her lefty serve and blistering forehand, can be hard to stop. The main challenge for the southpaw, who admitedly feels the pressure at Wimbledon, will be managing her emotions.
The Czech opens against Jasmine Paolini and could run into 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova in the third round. She beat the latter in straight sets at Berlin earlier.
For Elena Rybakina, her title defense starts against the tricky Shelby Rogers. The American has a knack of causing upsets on the big stage, but hasn't had a lot of success in the lead-up. The Kazakh, however, will still need to be wary.
Moving ahead, Rybakina faces another trained seed slayer of sorts — Alize Cornet. With a Serena Williams, Iga Swiatek and Bianca Andreescu scalps at SW19 under her belt, the Frenchwoman is as threatening as you get on grass.
The Kazakh's serving numbers (316 aces and 74.5% first-serve points won) put her atop the field and that's one weapon that will be key to her ability to fend off her spirited opponents.
Jelena Ostapenko and Beatriz Haddad Maia will vie for the opportunity to play against Rybakina in the fourth round. The Latvian recently lifted the trophy in Birmingham only to retire from her Eastbourne quarterfinal. The move, however, may have been more strategic than anything else.
An in-form winner machine of sorts, Ostapenko could well run into Tatjana Maria — the woman who bamboozled her in the fourth round last year — early. Pitting the Latvian's brut power against Maria's finesses and court craft, the second-round encounter isn't one to be missed.
Prediction: Petra Kvitova def. Jelena Ostapenko
4th quarter: Aryna Sabalenka, Karolina Muchova set for rematch as Barbora Krejcikova, Maria Sakkari await
Top seeds: [2] Aryna Sabalenka, [8] Maria Sakkari, [10] Barbora Krejcikova and [16] Karolina Muchova
Dark horse: Karolina Muchova
Maria Sakkari and Barbora Krejcikova have both had somewhat encouraging showings on grass after a poor clay swing. While the Greek made the semis in Berlin, the Czech was a finalist in Birmingham.
Both, however, face similarly precarious paths leading up to the fourth round. Sakkari opens against the talented Marta Kostyuk and has the mercurial Madison Keys looming in the third round. If her current form is anything to go by, it would be hard to envision her standing up against the onslaught of the American on the quick grasscourts.
Krejcikova, for one, is better equipped at using her opponents' power against them. How well her masterful redirections hold up against power hitting is a question that the likes of teen sensation Mirra Andreeva and Anastasia Potapova may answer within the first week.
Aryna Sabalenka had the dubious distinction of being among the double fault tour leaders last year. A renewed serve and calmer mentality have been key to her turnaround in 2023.
At 35, Sabalenka is joint leader for most matches won this year with Swiatek (excluding Bad Homburg). She is also the only player to have made semis at both 2023 Slams so far. That, added with her power-packed game, make her a favorite in just about every match-up.
There have, however, been instances of vulnerability — as exposed masterfully by the likes of Karolina Muchova and Veronika Kudermetova most recently. Mount enough pressure by serving and defending well and Sabalenka will break.
Camila Giorgi, Sabalenka's likely second-round opponent, possesses the weapons needed to test the Belarusian and that's before Muchova may herself get a chance to do so at a second Slam running.
The Czech's all-court game has come alive on grass on multiple occasions (she is a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist) and if she can come through her early rounds — read big-hitting names Jule Niemeier and Ekaterina Alexandrova — she is as big a contender as any.
Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka def. Barbora Krejcikova
Prediction for semifinals
Iga Swiatek def. Donna Vekic
Aryna Sabalenka def. Petra Kvitova
Prediction for final
Iga Swiatek def. Aryna Sabalenka
