wimbledon 2021
8
leading contenders – women ASHLEIGH BARTY
ARYNA SABALENKA
ELINA SVITOLINA
With the best slice backhand in the business, Australian Ashleigh Barty is ranked No 1 in the world in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and is the second Australian singles No 1 after fellow countrywoman, Evonne Goolagong Cawley. She has also been a top 10 player in doubles, having achieved a career-high ranking of No 5 in the world. She has 11 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including one Grand Slam singles title at the 2019 French Open and one Grand Slam doubles title at the 2018 US Open with partner Coco Vandeweghe. She is also the reigning champion in singles at the WTA Finals. Despite her short stature, she is an excellent server and has made no secret of the fact that her favourite surface is grass. The 25-year-old has been in brilliant form this season, but goes into Wimbledon with doubts over a hip injury that struck at Roland Garros.
Aryna Sabalenka has been a top 10 player in both singles and doubles, having been ranked as high as No 4 in singles and No 1 in doubles. She has won two Grand Slam doubles titles, the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, alongside Elise Mertens. She has won 16 WTA titles in total, ten in singles and six in doubles. Sabalenka was unheralded as a junior and relatively unknown until 2017 when she rose to prominence by leading the Belarus Fed Cup team to a runner-up finish. While the hard-hitting Belarussian has been hovering in and out of the Top 10 since 2019, she has never cracked the quarterfinal barrier in singles at a major. However, she showed that she has the potential to reach the final eight at a Grand Slam by upsetting world No 1 Ashleigh Barty to win the biggest title of her career - the Mutua Madrid Open.
Elina Svitolina turned professional in 2010 and reached the career-high ranking of world No 3 in September 2019. She has won 15 WTA singles titles, including the 2018 WTA Finals and three of five Premier 5-level tournaments in 2017: the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Italian Open, and the Canadian Open. At the 2015 French Open, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she was defeated by former champion Ana Ivanovic. In February 2017, after winning the title in Dubai, Svitolina became the first Ukrainian woman to break into the Top-10 rankings. She would finally reach her first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and followed it up with a second consecutive semifinal at the 2019 US Open. A defensive baseliner, she possesses a remarkably complete game. Her greatest strengths are her movement, footwork, speed, stamina and anticipation, aiming to return as many balls as possible and draw unforced errors out of aggressive players. Her favourite surfaces are grass and clay.
Age: 25 Birth place: Ipswich, Australia Residence: Ipswich, Australia Height: 1.65m Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2010 Career singles titles: 11 Grand slam titles: 1 Career prize money: $18 798 303 Wimbledon Championships played: 7 Best singles performance: 4th Round (2019)
Age: 23 Birth place: Minsk, Belarus Residence: Belarus Height: 1.83m Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2015 Career singles titles: 10 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $8 019 346 Wimbledon Championships played: 3 Best singles performance: 2nd round (2017)
Age: 26 Birth place: Odessa, Ukraine Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 1.74m Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2010 Career singles titles: 15 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $20 455 758 Wimbledon Championships played: 7 Best singles performance: Semifinal (2019)
Seeding: 1
Seeding: 2
Seeding: 3
