Wimbledon - Tennis: Five to Follow - Women's Singles

bet365 News Team Updated: 04 Aug 23 11:10 Published: 19 Jun 22 12:39

World number one Iga Swiatek was a thoroughly deserving winner at the French Open, dropping just one set in her seven matches, and the Pole is widely seen to be the leading contender at Wimbledon, but there are plenty of other contenders in what has become an unpredictable event.

Swiatek has played at Wimbledon twice - reaching the first round in 2019 and the fourth round in 2021 - but there are others in the field with far greater experience, including seven-time winner Serena Williams.

What: Wimbledon Championships

Where: All England Club, London

When: Monday 27th June-Sunday 10th July

How to watch: BBC, Eurosport and Sports Live Streaming

Odds: Iga Swiatek 6/4, Cori Gauff 10/1, Simona Halep 12/1, Ons Jabeur 14/1, Emma Raducanu 16/1

Karolina Pliskova (18/1) will be keen to go one better after losing out to Ashleigh Barty in last year's final and Simona Halep will be hopeful of landing a second title after her success in 2019.

Progressive Tunisian Ons Jabeur is another player who could go far and there could be strong showings from French Open runner-up Cori Gauff and consistent Spaniard Paula Badosa (20/1).

Gauff getting closer to Grand Slam glory

There are some talented players coming through in the women's game, but few have more potential than Coco Gauff, who turned 18 in March this year.

Gauff burst on to the scene by reaching the Wimbledon fourth round as a 15-year-old in 2019 and, while she has had her ups and downs since then, she reached this year's French Open final, losing 6-1 6-3 to Swiatek.

The American had another run to the fourth round of last year's Wimbledon and is starting to show the necessary consistency which could help to establish her as a multiple future Grand Slam winner.

Her aggressive, attacking approach should be ideal for grass courts and the experience of playing in a first Grand Slam final, while a losing one, should help in the future.

Gauff has time on her side and her first Grand Slam success might be a few years away. However, given her immense talent, it is also possible that it could arrive at Wimbledon 2022.

Experience the key for Halep

Simona Halep has not been at her best in the last few years, but she remains a fierce competitor and cannot be ruled out of contention.

The Romanian was a top ten0ranked player between 2014 and 2021, but her game peaked between 2017 and 2019 when she spent 64 weeks as the world number one.

More recently Halep has been less consistent, although she has had some decent moments this year, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and the semi-finals in both Dubai and Indian Wells.

Halep has not played at Wimbledon since winning the title in 2019, but she enjoys playing on grass and her mental toughness is always an asset when becoming involved in tight matches.

Pliskova looking to go one better

Last year's run to the Wimbledon final was a big step forward for Karolina Pliskova, who had never gone beyond the fourth round in nine previous visits to the All England Club, but her chances in 2022 may depend on her state of fitness.

The Czech suffered a hand injury in training and was ruled out of this year's Australian Open and a string of other early-season events.

She experienced mixed results during the clay court season, highlighted by a run to the semi-finals in Strasbourg, but that run of matches may have afforded her just enough preparation to make a decent fist of the grass court season.

Pliskova's game - which features a strong serve and excellent net play - is well-suited to grass and she could go well at long odds.

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Progressive Jabeur still on the up

Ons Jabeur is a late developer who did not break into the WTA's top 50 until 2020, but she continues to improve and will be looking to produce her best ever showing at Wimbledon, having reached the quarter-finals last year.

The 27-year-old Tunisian suffered a surprise first-round exit at this year's French Open, losing to Magda Linette, but has had an otherwise excellent year, reaching three finals and winning the Madrid Open in May.

Jabeur demonstrated her grass court prowess by winning the Birmingham title last year and cannot be easily overlooked.

Consistent Badosa seeks Grand Slam breakthrough

Clay is the favoured surface for consistent Spanish baseliner Paula Badosa, but she had a decent run at Wimbledon last year, reaching the fourth round, and is playing well enough to make an even bigger impact.

Badosa rose to a career high of second in the WTA rankings in April this year after winning the Sydney Tennis Classic and reaching the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

She also performed well in Miami and Charlestown, reaching the last eight on both occasions, and could become a dangerous player if getting through the early rounds, where conditions favour those with a more natural grass court game.