MX23RW : Tuesday, April 23 23:05:03| >> :600:89652098:89652098:

Who are the contenders for the women's Wimbledon title?

Who are the contenders for the women's Wimbledon title?
© Reuters
Ten women to watch at the All England Club.

Simona Halep will make a belated defence of her Wimbledon title when the Championships return next week.

After last year's cancellation, the women's tournament is likely to be another unpredictable battle for the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five top-10 contenders and five from lower down the rankings.

Ashleigh Barty

The world number one has made no secret of the fact that her favourite surface is grass despite winning her first grand slam title at the French Open in 2019. The 25-year-old has been in brilliant form this season but goes into the tournament with doubts over a hip injury that struck at Roland Garros.

Simona Halep

Another leading player with fitness concerns after tearing a calf muscle in Rome and missing the French Open. Halep won her second slam title in sensational fashion in 2019, beating Serena Williams 6-2 6-2 in the SW19 final.

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka is looking to make her grand slam breakthrough
Aryna Sabalenka is looking to make her grand slam breakthrough (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Despite her position in the world's top four, Belarusian Sabalenka is still under the radar, mostly because of a lack of success at the slams so far. The 23-year-old has yet to progress past the second round at Wimbledon but her big-hitting game should make her a dangerous proposition on grass.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams had to settle for the runner-up plate in 2018 and 2019
Serena Williams had to settle for the runner-up plate in 2018 and 2019 (Mike Egerton/PA)

Williams' quest for a 24th slam singles title goes on, and Wimbledon is widely perceived to be the 39-year-old's best chance. She reached the final in both 2018 and 2019 but was well beaten by Angelique Kerber and Halep, respectively, and has not played a match on grass for two years.

Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek was the Wimbledon junior champion in 2018
Iga Swiatek was the Wimbledon junior champion in 2018 (Nigel French/PA)

Swiatek will play in the women's singles at Wimbledon for just the second time having won the girls' title in 2018. The 20-year-old Pole showed what a talent she is on clay by winning her first slam title at Roland Garros last year and will look to make an impact on grass.

Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova is a perennial Wimbledon favourite
Petra Kvitova is a perennial Wimbledon favourite (Victoria Jones/PA)

With no grass-court events last year and only two weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon this time, the advantage could be with players who like and are experienced on grass. Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova fits right into that category, although she is battling to recover from an ankle injury.

Garbine Muguruza

Another former champion, Muguruza made a brilliant start to 2021 before a thigh problem affected her during the clay-court campaign. But the Spaniard looked strong on the grass in Berlin last week and is a player who relishes the big stage.

Barbora Krejcikova

Czech Krejcikova joined the growing list of unexpected women's slam champions by lifting the title at Roland Garros at the end of a brilliant two weeks. The 25-year-old will be making her main-draw debut at the All England Club in singles but is a former winner of the doubles title.

Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff made a sensational Wimbledon debut
Coco Gauff made a sensational Wimbledon debut in 2019 (Steven Paston/PA)

It is two years since Gauff announced her immense talents to the world as a 15-year-old by reaching the fourth round. She returns as a legitimate challenger for the title having broken into the top 25 and reached her first slam quarter-final at Roland Garros.

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula has rocketed up the rankings
Jessica Pegula has rocketed up the rankings (David Davies/PA)

It has been a remarkable season for American Pegula, who has surged from outside the top 60 to inside the top 30 in 2021, pulling off big wins on both hard courts and clay. The 27-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, is looking for her first main-draw win at Wimbledon.

ID:452143: cacheID:452143:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:41527:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Coco Gauff reacts at the French Open in June 2021
Read Next:
Coco Gauff: 'I don't know how I'm going to feel at Wimbledon'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Munar
Borges
10am
Navone
Popyrin
10am
Vukic
Daniel
10am
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
10am
Davis
Sherif
10am
Putintseva
Yuan
10am
Stephens
Trevisan
10am
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
11.30am
Altmaier
Landaluce
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
11.30am
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
11.30am
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
12pm
Osaka
Minnen
12pm
Vekic
Siegemund
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!