Though only 105th on the world rankings, Camila Giorgi should be a headliner for a list of dark horses. The 25-year-old is the defending champion of the event and was a winner in six of her last nine matches.
Beginning in the 2016 season, she has also reached the third round or beyond 12 times.
Miyu Kato
Among the lower-tiered women, Miyu Kato might have one of the best – if not the best – records on grass in the last couple of years. In the last three years, she’s 19-6 on such surface, which includes the back-to-back finals appearances on grass-held events in mid 2015 (won one). In those tournaments, she won nine of 10 and showed her strong late-game abilities well, as she only lost one game or less in the final set five times.
Evgeniya Rodina
Another interesting sleeper pick that should catch your attention is the 80th-ranked Evgeniya Rodina, who will enter the tournament having won 10 of his last 13 matches on grass. It includes his title-winning run in last year’s ITF 50k Ilkley (Week 24), where she ran past a quintet of foes with ease.
Further, eight of his last nine wins on grass have been via straight sets.
