The women’s title at Wimbledon was relatively up for grabs before the tournament even started.
Now it’s completely wide open.
With only half of the quarterfinal lineup set as of Sunday night, a whole host of top contenders have already bid farewell to the All-England Club. Gone from the event are No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Elena Rybakina, No. 3 Iga Swiatek, No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, No. 6 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 8 Elina Svitolina.
Rybakina (to Elise Mertens), Swiatek (to Alexandra Eala), and Anisimova (to Madison Keys) all crashed out on Saturday. Sabalenka followed on Sunday, suffering a 6-2, 7-6(2) setback at he hands of Naomi Osaka.
The bottom half of the bracket, which will play its fourth-round matches on Monday, has produced especially surprising results. No. 9 Linda Noskova is the highest remaining seed among the eight women who are still battling for a place in the championship match. Interestingly, though, there is only one unseeded player still alive: big-hitting American Ashlyn Krueger. In other words, almost all of the lower-seeded competitors have taken care of business; it is the very top players who have folded.
Well, not all of them. Americans Jessica Pegula (the No. 4 seed) and Coco Gauff (No. 7) both secured their places in the quarterfinals on Sunday, posting respective victories over Iva Jovic and Belinda Bencic.
Both Pegula and Gauff are among a plethora of players who have a very realistic chance of lifting the trophy. Heck, everyone left in the draw should feel like they have a shot. It is Osaka, though, who is now the odds-on favorite.
And what does the four-time Grand Slam champion think of the suddenly massive expectations?
“I think I’m actually quite good at shutting out outside noise,” Osaka said during her post-match press conference following her win over Sabalenka. “Obviously, everyone around me knows how well I can play. For me, that’s the most important thing — is just me building confidence in myself. Whatever happens is kind of like outside noise. I don’t need to pay attention to it. I just need to focus on the things that I can do.”
who ya got now?
God knows lol
I have got Coco now. BTW it’s always wide open on the women’s side. There are many contenders but no dominant players. Last 6 majors have produced 6 different champions, Keys, Coco, Iga, Sabalenka, Rybakina, Andreeva. Anisimova has also reached 2 major finals without tasting success. Sabalenka is the most consistent performer but she underperforms at majors. Iga is in an extended slump she isnt even winning on clay. Coco plays well every now and then. Rybakina can beat anyone when her game is on she can also lose to anyone when it isn’t.
true, it is always wide open these days