Swiatek on 35-match streak
The AP takes a look at some of the women to watch at the Wimbledon Grand Slam tennis tournament. Play begins Monday on the grass courts of the All England Club. The field is led by No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek. She is coming off her second French Open title and is on a 35-match winning streak. Another past champion in the bracket is Serena Williams. She recently returned from nearly a year off the tour by playing two doubles matches and will be making her return to singles action via a wild-card invitation at Wimbledon. Williams has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles at the All England Club.
Iga Swiatek
1
1
Poland
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Age: 21
2022 Record: 44-3
2022 Titles: 6
Career Titles: 9
Grand Slam Titles: 2 — French Open (2: 2020, 2022)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2021-Lost in 4th Round, 2019-Lost in 1st Round, 2018-Did Not Play, 2017-DNP, 2016-DNP
Aces: Enters on a 35-match winning streak, tied for the longest run since 2000 . ... Won her past six tournaments.
... Has not played since earning second major trophy at Roland Garros . ... Only player from Poland to win a
Grand Slam singles championship . ... Split from coach
Piotr Sierzputowski in the offseason and hired Tomasz Wiktorowski, who used to work with 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska.
The Draw: Could play 2021 French Open champion
Barbora Krejcikova in fourth round, No. 8 Jessica Pegula in quarterfinals.
She Said It: “I felt the baggage. The hardest thing is not letting yourself think about that and overanalyze and not letting yourself think about all the numbers and the odds.” — Swiatek, on her unbeaten streak, which dates to February.
Ons Jabeur
3
3
Tunisia
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Age: 27
2022 Record: 30-9
2022 Titles: 2
Career Titles: 3
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: QF, Wimbledon (2021), Australian Open (2020)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2021-QF, 2019-1st, 2018-2nd, 2017-1st, 2016-DNP
Aces: Coming off a first-round loss at the French Open . ... Played doubles with Serena Williams at grass-court tuneup in Eastbourne this month . ... First Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament and first to win a WTA title . ... Combines ability to produce heavy hitting from baseline with terrific drop shots.
The Draw: Could play 2018 Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.
She Said It: “I’m a pretty positive person, to be honest with you. I’m not going to let a match like this ruin it. But obviously, I was expecting better.” — Jabeur, after her surprising exit at Roland Garros.
Maria Sakkari
5
5
Greece
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Age: 26
2022 Record: 25-12
2022 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 1
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: SF, French Open (2021), U.S. Open (2021)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2021-2nd, 2019-3rd, 2018-1st, 20173rd, 2016-2nd
Aces: After reaching her first two Grand Slam semifinals last season, at the French Open and U.S. Open, made it to the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, before bowing out in the second round at Roland Garros last month . ... Only one player in the Wimbledon women’s field has more aces in 2022 than Sakkari’s 144 (Elena Rybakina, 159).
The Draw: Could face 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round.
She Said It: “I don’t really think about what happened in 2021. But of course, it was the start of a different journey for my career.” — Sakkari, discussing her breakthrough season.
Emma Raducanu
10
11
Britain
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Age: 19
2022 Record: 8-11
2022 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 1
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — U.S. Open (2021)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2021-4th, 2019-DNP, 2018-DNP, 2017-DNP, 2016-DNP
Aces: Still only has participated in four Grand Slam tournaments but owns a championship from one . ... Was first qualifier to win a major championship when she claimed the title at Flushing Meadows last September.
... Her Grand Slam debut came at Wimbledon a year ago, when she made a surprising run to the fourth round . ... Has gone through a series of coaches since her U.S. Open victory.
The Draw: Could play 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys in the third round.
She Said It: “I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the fans at home, and just all the support. Last year I experienced a little taste of it, but I feel like this year might be a bit more.” — Raducanu, on playing in Britain.
Coco Gauff
11
12
United States
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Age: 18
2022 Record: 23-12
2022 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 2
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: RU, French Open (2022) Last 5 Wimbledons: 2021-4th, 2019-4th, 2018-DNP, 2017-DNP, 2016-DNP
Aces: Coming off her first Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros; also was the doubles runner-up there . ... At just 18, will be making her 12th appearance at a major tournament . ... Her debut came at the All England Club at age 15 in 2019, when she was the youngest qualifier in tournament history, then beat Venus Williams in the first round and made it all the way to the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep.
The Draw: Could face No. 29 Amanda Anisimova, a 20-year-old American, in the third round, 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the fourth, and past Wimbledon champions Simona Halep or Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals.
She Said It: “I definitely feel like this helped my confidence a lot. I just think, even when I was 15, 16, 17, I felt so much pressure to make a final. Now that I made it, I feel relief, a little bit.” — Gauff, on reaching the title match at the French Open.
Serena Williams
N/A
1,204
United States
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Age: 40
2022 Record:
2022 Titles:
Career Titles:
Grand Slam Titles: 23 — Wimbledon (7: 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016), Australian Open (7: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017), French Open (3: 2002, 2013, 2015), U.S. Open (6: 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014) Last 5 Wimbledons: 2021-1st, 2019-RU, 2018-RU, 2017-DNP, 2016-W
Aces: Making return to singles play after a year away; received a wild-card invitation . ... Last match was at Centre Court in 2021, when she injured her right leg.
The Draw: Plays Harmony Tan in the first round.
She Said It: “I’ve had a big ‘X’ on my back since ‘99, since I won the U.S. Open . ... Players play me that hard every single tournament, every single match, every single Grand Slam.” — Williams, speaking a year ago before Wimbledon about the way other players approach matches against her.