Women's Wimbledon Preview: Will Serena recapture her throne?

Once upon a time, the lack of a prohibitive favorite in a women’s Grand Slam draw would lead to charges of “chaos in the WTA.” This year, when there is again no clear-cut woman to beat, most of the talk has been about the wide variety of storylines in the Ladies’ draw, and the intriguing first-round matchups on offer. Rightly so. Here’s a look ahead at whose storylines are most likely to end happily when the fortnight is over.

*

Will Simona Halep’s breakthrough win at Roland Garros help or hurt her at Wimbledon? On the one hand, she should be relaxed; on the other, she could be too relaxed and not as desperate to win as she was in Paris. Halep is best-known for her success on clay and hard courts, but she has gradually learned her way around the grass at Wimbledon, too. A semifinalist in 2014, she has reached the quarters the last two years.

Another deep run won’t come easily. With Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Ostapenko, and Johanna Konta, Halep’s section is rather loaded. In fact, the favorite to come out of it has to be Kvitova. After her early exit in Paris, she picked up where she left off with a title in Birmingham last week. And we all know how she feels about Wimbledon.

Potential third-round match to watch: Sharapova vs. Ostapenko

Semifinalist: Kvitova

For a defending champion and No. 3 seed, Garbiñe Muguruza is coming in somewhat under the radar. While her story may not be as compelling as Serena Williams’ or Petra Kvitova’s at the moment, and while she hasn’t had her best season overall, there’s no reason to think Muguruza can’t put together another title run. She reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, and her draw here could be worse. The next-highest seed is Caroline Garcia, who is just 7-5 at Wimbledon.

But there are names of note here, too. Muguruza could face Anett Kontaveit in the third round, Ashleigh Barty or Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round, and Angelique Kerber or Naomi Osaka in the quarters. Kerber in particular seemed to be rounding into form at Eastbourne, where she reached the semifinals this past week.

First-round match to watch: Garcia vs. Belinda Bencic, Kerber vs. 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva, Osaka vs. Monica Niculescu

Semifinalist: Kerber

After years of ups and downs, Sloane Stephens’ ranking has finally reached the game’s upper echelon. Before 2018, she had never cracked the Top 10; now she’s the No. 4 seed at Wimbledon, and gets to head up her own quarter of the draw. Can Sloane live up to those expectations? It would require another breakthrough. While she reached the quarters here in 2013, she hasn’t been past the third round since. She also has a fairly difficult opener against Donna Vekic, who likes grass.

If Stephens reaches the quarters, she could find one of three formidable opponents waiting for her there: Karolina Pliskova, Victoria Azarenka, or five-time champion and 2017 runner-up Venus Williams. While Pliskova says her grass game remains a work in progress, and Azarenka struggled to put two good matches together this spring, Venus still lives for Wimbledon, even after 20 years of making the trip. But she’ll want to make sure she gets off to faster start than she has been at the majors; she lost in the first round at both the Australian Open and French Open.

First-round matches to watch: Mihaela Buzarnescu vs. Aryna Sabalenka, Julia Goerges vs. Monica Puig, Barbora Strycova vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Stephens vs. Vekic

Semifinalist: V. Williams

Serena Williams is seeded 25th, but that’s beside the point. The point, instead, will be her form. Roland Garros was always likely to be something of a warm-up for Wimbledon for her; the question is, did she do enough to shake off the rust in her week in Paris? Serena seemed to be getting better with each match there, and she’ll have two more matches at Wimbledon before she could face fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina. As far as high seeds go, there are worse ones she could play; Svitolina is just 5-5 at Wimbledon.

But there are names to watch in this section aside from Serena’s. We have Madison Keys, who is coming off a semifinal run at the French, and who seems destined to win Wimbledon someday. We have Magdalena Rybarikova, a stylish, surprise semifinalist last year. We have CoCo Vandeweghe, a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist. And we have the No. 2 seed, Caroline Wozniacki, who has been playing some stubbornly good tennis this week in reaching the Eastbourne final.

Potential third-round matches to watch: S.  Williams vs. Svitolina, Keys vs. Rybarikova, Semifinalist: S. Williams

Semifinalist: S. Williams

Semifinals: Kvitova d. Kerber; S. Williams d. V. Williams

Final: S. Williams d. Kvitova

A LANDMARK DOCUMENTARY DURING THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS EVENT IN SPORTS, CELEBRATING THE UNPARALLELED FEDERER-NADAL RIVALRY AND 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREATEST MATCH EVER PLAYED.

In association with All England Lawn & Tennis Club, Rock Paper Scissors Entertainment and Amblin Television.  Directed by Andrew Douglas.