Iga Swiatek leads ‘Big Three’ into wide open Wimbledon
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Poland's Iga Swiatek is seeking her fifth Grand Slam title and she hopes to do it at Wimbledon.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – If more proof was needed of the depth in women’s tennis 50 years after the formation of the WTA, then trying to pick a winner for the 2023 Wimbledon title illustrates it perfectly.
Polish world No. 1 Iga Swiatek leads a clear “Big Three” also including Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and Kazakhstan’s reigning champion Elena Rybakina.
Since the retirement of world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty,
Suggesting that one of them will hold aloft the trophy is hardly radical, yet it would also be no real surprise if a new name burst from the pack or one of the older generation such as two-time champion Petra Kvitova revived past glories.
Swiatek, who was down with fever and suspected food poisoning on Friday, will be the favourite when the tournament starts on Monday if she recovers well.
The 22-year-old claimed her third French Open title
Her all-court game, combined with her mental strength, suggests she will stand the test of time better than some players who briefly threatened to dominate.
Yet she is still to master the finer details of grass-court tennis and her best Wimbledon run was only to the last 16 in 2021.
“I think she can’t really at this point feel super confident on the grass, but I think she feels confident,” three-time Wimbledon champion Chris Evert said on ESPN last week.
“She’s No. 1 in the world, the best player in the world, but this surface may take away a little bit of her strength.”
There were others who were more optimistic.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander believes the Pole can eventually find her feet on grass courts, just like serial clay-court winner Rafael Nadal did.
“There are different surfaces where they’re going to be better and I think they’ve proved that already,” he told Eurosport. “I think Swiatek is going to be dominating and she’s going to be the Nadal of the (women’s) Big Three.”
Rybakina, who stunned Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the 2022 final, has some worries over her health and fitness after pulling out of the French Open and last week’s Eastbourne International, but her game is perfect for grass.
A clean hitter off both wings, the 24-year-old packs a powerful weapon on serve, racking up a Tour-leading 316 aces this season. Sabalenka has 231 while Swiatek has only 59.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021
She had an uncomfortable time at the French Open despite reaching the semi-finals, finding herself at the centre of questions about her country’s role as Russia’s ally.
The 25-year-old will hope that her power tennis can become the main topic of conversation in London.
American teenager Coco Gauff, seeded seventh, will be seeking to improve on her previous runs to the last 16 in 2019 and 2021, while Jabeur’s mercurial game should give her another tilt at the title.
Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova are all among the top 20 seeds.
But one name, that of Kvitova, really stands out. The 33-year-old left-hander is enjoying a vintage year, winning the Miami title
If the ninth-ranked Czech gets on a roll, a dream third Wimbledon title cannot be ruled out.
“There’s a lot of pressure over there. I’m going to try to enjoy it. If I play good tennis, who knows what can happen,” she said after her Berlin triumph. REUTERS, AFP
