Top 5 favorites to win the 2024 Wimbledon women’s title

In this article we will analyze the big favorites to win the title this Saturday, July 13. Grass is a rather special surface, it is the shortest season of the year and requires a very direct game, with a good serve and a strong volley. It is not without reason that Martina Navratilova is the queen of SW19 with no fewer than 9 titles.

Marketa Vondrousova.

While she was a surprise, she is the defending champion so it should be taken into account. She has all the necessary qualities to perform at a high level on the London grass. Last year she defeated the likes of Peyton Stearns, Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic, Marie Bouzkova, Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina before beating Ons Jabeur in the final 6-4, 6-4.

Elena Rybakina.

The previous champion in 2022. The Kazakh has a similar game to Vondrousova, although she has some higher heights, both for better and for worse. If she is focused and does not make many mistakes, she can be considered the top favorite, but if she has gaps in matches, as she regularly does, she may be eliminated sooner or later. Two years ago she defeated Coco Vandeweghe, Bianca Andreescu, Qinwen Zheng, Petra Martic, Ajla Tomljanovic, Simona Halep and also the Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the final, in her case 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. In the past two weeks she barely lost two sets.

Aryna Sabalenka.

She did not play in 2022 due to the veto given to the Russians and Belarusians, but in the last two editions in which she participated she did reach the semi-finals. In 2021 she lost to Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6, while in 2023 her tormentor was Jabeur, who defeated her 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3 . She hasn’t been able to lift a trophy on grass yet, but her game seems to be adapting quite well.

Iga Swaatek.

Despite being by far her worst performance, out of respect for the world number 1 and a legend in the making, she has to be considered one of the clear candidates for the title. We are not safe from her overcoming all her rivals and reaching the final, knowing that she has never lost a decisive match in a Grand Slam. Moreover, she reached the quarter-finals last year, the furthest she has ever reached in London. At that point she lost to Elina Svitolina 5-7, 7-6(5), 2-6.

Coco Gauff.

The most consistent player in Grand Slam tournaments so far this season. She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open before losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(2), 4-6. And she also reached the same round at Roland Garros, where she also bowed to the player who lifted the trophy, in this case Iga Swiatek, 2-6, 4-6. It is true that she has never reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, but she is a tennis player of just twenty years old who continues to make progress every year.

Other options

Don’t rule out players like Ons Jabeur, finalist in the last two editions, Madison Keys, Qinwen Zheng, finalist at the Australian Open, Jessica Pegula, Victoria Azarenka, who continues to perform despite more than a decade of great results on the circuit, Caroline Garcia , champion of the WTA Finals in 2022 whose game is well adapted to the grass, or a surprise like Liudmila Samsonova or Veronika Kudermetova.