Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula, Jabeur: Are we seeing an era-creating women’s event at Wimbledon?

WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka Talks Djokovic Friendship, Svitolina-Azarenka Ending

“These women’s matches are pure fire,” U.S. journalist Charles Pierce wrote on Twitter on Sunday. Pierce is a sometime sportswriter, but I don’t normally associate him with tennis. Yet there he was, on a weekend afternoon, glued to Elina Svitolina vs. Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek vs. Belinda Bencic. If Wimbledon needed any more validation of its long-overdue decision to schedule matches on the tournament’s Middle Sunday, those two contests provided it. The tension was off the charts in Centre Court and No. 1 Court, and a worldwide TV audience was at home to see it.

Anyone who watches tennis on a semi-regular basis knows that the WTA—and in particular its Top 3 players, Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Aryna Sabalenka—has provided its share of fire-emoji-worthy contests this year. Sabalenka’s win over Swiatek in the Madrid final, and her loss to Karolina Muchova in the Roland Garros semifinals, were both classics; if anything, Svitolina topped them with her patriotically charged victory over Azarenka.

It might be hard for any player, Svitolina included, to live up to that standard the rest of the way. But the women’s draw is still ideally poised for an important second week. This time there have been precious few upsets or shockers through the first four rounds; instead, the cream has risen and the seeds have held. The Top 3, Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Rybakina, are all alive and healthy. So is No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who had never past the third round at Wimbledon before. Last year’s runner-up, Ons Jabeur, is still in the mix; she and Rybakina will reprise their 2022 final in the quarters on Wednesday. The relative surprises—Svitolina, Madison Keys and Marketa Vondrousova—have all been Grand Slam contenders in the past.

Could this be an era-defining, or era-creating, tournament for the WTA? Since Serena Williams won her last major title, in 2017, the tour has watched its future come and go a couple of times. Ash Barty went to No. 1 and retired at 25. Naomi Osaka won four Grand Slam titles, but fell in the rankings last year and probably won’t be back until 2024. The class of players who rose up in 2021—Paula Badosa, Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit, Barbora Krejcikova among them—tumbled back down almost as quickly.

Starting in 2022, though, Swiatek grabbed hold of No. 1 and hasn’t let go. This year she has been joined at the top by Sabalenka, Rybakina and to a somewhat more erratic extent, Pegula. Now that Jabeur is healthy again, they make up a reliable top tier. At least one of them has been in every Grand Slam final since the start of last year, when Barty retired. Together they’ve consolidated that success at this year’s Wimbledon.

So what will we see when they go up against each other over the next two days?

Swiatek vs. Svitolina is the highest profile of the quarterfinals. The match won’t be as politically fraught as her one over the Belarusian Azarenka; Swiatek is a Pole who keeps a tiny Ukraine glad pinned to her hat when she plays—even at all-white Wimbledon. But the idea of winning the championship for Ukraine must give Svitolina chills, and will be something she’ll fight tooth and nail for against any opponent.

Pegula vs. Vondrousova should offer a clear tactical and stylistic contrast: Pegula’s flat depth against Vondrousova’s lefty finesse and drop-shot love. Pegula has been gradually going deeper at majors over the last three years, but a Wimbledon semifinal would be a big step, and a big validator of her lofty ranking.

Jabeur vs. Rybakina made for a very good final last year, and one that Jabeur will likely be desperate to put behind her with a victory. In 2022, she won the first set and seemed poised to do the same in the second, but over-complicated her shot choices at the wrong moments. If anything, Rybakina, who has rounded into form over the first four rounds, will be a tougher out this time.

Sabalenka vs. Keys will be full throttle from both sides. Each hits the ball as big as anyone on either tour, save maybe Carlos Alcaraz. At 28, after 14 years on tour, Keys may feel like her future opportunities to win a big one may not get better than this.

Few eras in tennis are defined by just one player. Evert had her Navratilova; Federer had his Nadal and Djokovic. There would be worse fates for the future of women’s tennis than to have this Wimbledon kick off a new one.