Jelena Ostapenko’s surprising run to the French Open title serves as proof that the WTA Tour’s field of competition is as wide open as ever. Throw in the fact that Serena Williams will be held out of action at Wimbledon due to her pregnancy, and you can bet that all the ladies in singles action have a decent shot of winning in England similar to Ostapenko’s triumphant campaign at Roland Garros.
Here are five women worth keeping tabs on as dark horses at Wimbledon; all bearing fantastic returns on their respective odds as we speak.
Madison Keys isn’t having the best of seasons as we speak, but a return to the All England Club may be the change of scenery she needs to get back into form.
Last year, Keys went an impressive 8-1 on grass-court tournaments, including winning it all at Birmingham prior to Wimbledon. The Florida native even advanced to the fourth round in all four of 2016’s Grand Slam tournaments and has made it as far as the third round at Wimby in all four of her last appearances there. Keys hasn’t seen action since Roland Garros either, meaning that she’s well-rested entering London.
Denied of yet another shot at her first Grand Slam title, World No. 2 Simona Halep will definitely look to bounce back with flair at Wimbledon following her finals loss to Ostapenko at the French Open.
Halep’s 22-6 record over the past six tournaments gives the Romanian standout some great momentum heading into the All England Club. And while her 11-6 lifetime record at Wimbledon isn’t very encouraging, she’s made it as far as the semis in 2014 and the quarters just last season, proving that she’s made vast improvements in the tournament over the last three years.
There’s arguably no other female tennis player who made bigger strides this 2017 than Elina Svitolina. The 22-year-old Ukranian has an impressive 36-8 record for the season thus far, with four of her eight-career WTA Tour main-draw titles having been won during this stretch.
What makes Svitolina a mere sleeper candidate at Wimbledon is her performances at the tournament to date, as she has yet to advance past the second round over her last four trips to the All England Club. But given her fantastic form this season, a maiden Grand Slam title for the fifth-best female tennis player in the world might be on the horizon.
An untimely ankle injury derailed Coco Vandeweghe’s momentum leading up to Wimbledon, as the 25-year-old New Yorker was forced to retire from her quarterfinal clash against Garbine Muguruza in Birmingham.
Nevertheless, Vandeweghe remains a serious threat on the verdant surfaces of the Tour. She went 9-3 on grass last season, which includes a win at s-Hertogenbosch and a fourth-round appearance at Wimby itself. And prior to last year’s appearance at the All England Club, Vandeweghe sealed a career-best quarterfinal finish at the tournament in 2015.
Not for nothing, Kristina Mladenovic’s 33 matches won this season goes to show that the 24-year-old is ready to throw her name into the WTA’s hat of true contenders. The 14th-ranked Frenchwoman has been a tough out throught 2017, making the quarterfinal round or better in eight of her 14 tournaments played along with four final-round appearances and a win at St. Petersburg to boot.
On the flipside and similar to Svitolina, Mladenovic has had very little success at Wimbledon, having advanced past the first round of the tournament just once in five trips (third round in 2015). Then again, her maiden victory at Russia is enough evidence that she does indeed have all the makings of an up-and-coming star on the WTA Tour.
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