For the first time since 2006, World No. 1 Serena Williams will not participate at Wimbledon due to her ongoing pregnancy. With the defending champion out, this year’s title will be anyone’s for the taking. Who will eventually come out on top? Let’s check out some of the top contenders to watch out for in this year’s Wimbledon tournament.
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Karolina Pliskova (+450)
Pliskova will head into Wimbledon in fine form. After her semifinal showing at the French Open, she won her warm-up tournament for Wimbledon at Eastbourne. That was the World No. 3’s third title of the season.
After failing to make it past the third round in any Grand Slam for the longest time, Pliskova has now made it to at least the quarterfinals of three consecutive Grand Slams. And with the pregnant Serena Williams out of Wimbledon this year, she has a golden opportunity as the favorite to capture her first career Slam at the All-England Club. Since 2015, Pliskova is 20-6 on grass.
Petra Kvitova (+650)
Just like her Czech counterpart Pliskova, Kvitova will similarly head into Wimbledon on a high. The World No. 15 won at Birmingham to claim her first title of the year. That win should be a huge morale-booster for Kvitova, who is only just making her return after getting stabbed on her playing hand during a traumatic home invasion last December.
The 27-year-old has failed to make it past the third round in the last two years at Wimbledon, but as a two-time winner of the tournament, she more than deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Johanna Konta (+800)
It remains to be seen how British World No. 1 Johanna Konta will fare after suffering a back injury which caused her to withdraw from the semifinals at Eastbourne. It was a big disappointment for the World No. 7, who had just knocked out World No. 2 Angelique Kerber in the quarters.
Konta is easily having the best season of her career, going 19-3 on the season (8-2 on grass), with two titles at Sydney and the Miami Masters. If she’s anywhere close to 100 percent, she has a very good shot to improve upon her previous best performance at Wimbledon, which was a second-round exit last year.
Sleepers
Madison Keys (+1,400)
It’s easy to forget about Madison Keys. The 22-year-old World No. 10 has had a down season after undergoing wrist surgery. She’s gone 4-6 on the season, making it past the second round in just one of her six tournaments to date.
But perhaps a return to her favored grass court will be just the thing that gets her back on track. She’s 25-7 in her career on the surface. She reached the round of 16 of Wimbledon last season, and the quarterfinals as a 20-year-old the year before that.
Coco Vandeweghe (+2,000)
It’s been another underwhelming season thus far for Coco. Despite all her potential, the 25-year-old has yet to build off her promising 2014 season. But it’s still not a good idea to count her out, especially on her favored grass. Since 2014, she’s gone 27-8 on the surface. That includes her two career titles, both coming on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, in 2014 and 2016.
She stunningly crashed out at the first round of this year’s tournament, but she redeemed herself a bit at Birmingham. She knocked out Johanna Konta in straight sets in the round of 16 before succumbing to an ankle injury against Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals.
Long Shot
Anett Kontaveit (+4,000)
Kontaveit is easily one of the best value bets in the field. The 21-year-old is having a breakout season, one which got even better after she claimed her first career singles title at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The World No. 73 has not gotten past the first round in three attempts at Wimbledon, but based on current form, she has a realistic shot at going much, much further in this year’s tournament.
Writer’s Prediction
Konta (+900) recovers from her back injury to win her inaugural Grand Slam in her home country.
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