It has been a turbulent first week in the Wimbledon women's singles, with Iga Swiatek and Serena Williams among those making an early exit from the tournament.
Emma Raducanu is another have already crashed out of the grass-court Grand Slam and the field looks wide open as the second week approaches.
| What: | 2022 Wimbledon women's singles |
| Where: | All England Club, Wimbledon, London |
| When: | Monday 27th June to Sunday 10th July 2022 |
| How to watch: | BBC or bet365's Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds: | Ons Jabeur 2/1, Simona Halep 4/1, Amanda Anisimova 7/1, Tatjana Maria 16/1 |
Swiatek's winning streak is snapped
Undoubtedly the standout moment of the first week at Wimbledon was the exit of world number one Swiatek in the women's draw on Saturday.
Going into the season's third Grand Slam, French Open champion Swiatek was on a 37-match winning streak, having also wrapped up titles in the likes of Qatar, Miami and Stuttgart.
But in a shock result, she lost 6-4 6-2 to Alize Cornet of France in the tournament's third round.
It could prove to be a defining moment in the WTA season with Swiatek having been tipped to dominate the sport like Serena Williams, but there were arguably warning signs when she dropped a set to lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in the second round and grass is not the Pole's favourite surface.
Gauff knocked out by fellow American
On the same day that Swiatek was sent packing by Cornet, Coco Gauff's Wimbledon journey came to an end at the hands of compatriot Amanda Anisimova, who won 6-7 6-2 6-1.
It was another shock at the All England Club given how well Gauff has been playing in 2022, having reached the final of the French Open in June, defeating Elise Mertens, Sloane Stephens and Martina Trevisan among others in the Grand Slam.
Gauff, 18, also prepared well for Wimbledon with a run to the semi-finals of the Grass Court Championships Berlin, where she lost to Ons Jabeur, but her inexperience showed against Anisimova, who faces Katie Boulter's conqueror, Harmony Tan, in her next match.
Maria a threat after ousting Ostapenko
As well as Swiatek and Gauff, Anett Kontaveit (second seed), Maria Sakkari (fifth seed), Karolina Pliskova (sixth seed) and Danielle Collins (seventh seed) were among the other big names to fail to make it through the first week at Wimbledon in the women's singles.
As a result, there could be a surprise name to lift the trophy and one player who was worth keeping an eye on was Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, only for her to fall on Sunday to Tatjana Maria, losing a three-set thriller 5-7 7-5 7-5.
Veteran German Maria now becomes an intriguing prospect to follow, having sent three seeds crashing out of the tournament during her impressive run to the quarter-finals.
Twenty-ninth seed Sorana Cristea was seen off in three sets in round two, before fifth seed Maria Sakkari was despatched 6-3 7-5 in the third round, meaning that anyone coming up against Maria will be facing a player high on confidence and no doubt believing that she has the game to worry any opponent.
Watson the best of British
Heather Watson was the only British player left in the round of 16 in the women's singles heading into the action on Sunday, but her hopes of a quarter-final spot were ended by another German - Jule Niemeier.
Watson failed to record any earth-shattering results in her tournament preparations, but got practice in at the Nottingham Open and Eastbourne International before breezing through to the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Improving Brits Harriet Dart, Boulter and injury-plagued Jodie Burrage were all out by the second round, as was the country's greatest prospect, Raducanu.
In the women's draw the spotlight was on tenth seed Raducanu this year following her remarkable US Open triumph as a qualifier last year, but she was ousted 6-3 6-3 by French player Caroline Garcia in the second round.
Legend Serena unable to make an impact
With 23 Grand Slam titles to her name, legendary American ace Serena Williams did not want last year's injury-induced exit to be her final memory of Wimbledon so she returned to SW19 for the women's singles draw this year.
Unfortunately for the 40-year-old, she was unable to cause a stir, losing 5-7 6-1 6-7 to France's Tan.
Williams at least had some success on grass courts this summer, though, advancing to the semi-finals of the Eastbourne International with doubles partner Jabeur in June.
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