WTA Wimbledon Preview

WIMBLEDON NEWS & NOTES

*Siniakova-Townsend are back to defend their 2024 Wimbledon titles. The four seeds won the championship as 1.53 (-188) favorites over (2)Dabrowski-Routliffe 7-6(5), 7-6(1). It continued a strong run for the favorites in the title match in London where they’ve won 11 of the past 12 title matches. The lone underdog pair to win were Hsieh-Strycova in 2023. The straight sets finish was the third straight since 2021’s 9-7 third set finish when Hsieh-Mertens held off Kudermetova-Vesnina.

*So with chalk taking the title match, has there been room for many surprises at the All-England Club on the ladies side? 2023 did have two unseeded semifinalists with the unseeded champion and there has been at least one unseeded pair in the semis in three of the last four runs. That also includes two unseeded finalists in that span. Do not dismiss the unseeded field, something we will focus more on below in the UNSEEDED MENACES section.

*In a bit of symmetry with the gentlemen’s draw, the last time that a pair successfully defending their titles was 2008-2009. The Williams’ sisters are the answer to that bit of trivia. The gap on the ladies side seems to have a bit to do with the amount of turnover between partners from year-to-year. The last champions who were even in the draw the following year were Krejcikova-Siniakova in 2018 and 2019.

*Early upsets were few in 2024 with only two seeds being ousted in round one. That was a stark contrast to 2023 when the seeded field saw five pairs going one and done. For the most part as you’ll see below, you can expect a few early upsets. Also notice that a top six seed has gone out in each of the last four years with the #4 and #6 seeds being most vulnerable.

*With the small amount of seeded losses early in 2024, there were just three underdog hits in round one. The largest one came at the expense of the six seeds with Mihalikova-Nicholls winning at 4.19 (+319) over (6)Schuurs-Stefani. Overall, there were only SIX total underdog wins last year. That’s quite amazing to see out of 63 matches played. It was quite the change from 2023 when 19 dogs barked with some massive scores. There were four hits at 4.00 (+300) or better and five more between 3.00 (+200) and 3.99 (+299). Stretching back to 2022, there were only eleven underdog wins, so there doesn’t seem to be a set pattern of knowing if we will see few or many in the way of underdog victories. The years when there they have been plentiful, round one looks like a great place to start looking for them, especially against one of those higher seeds.

*Three set matches were steady last year with 21 of the 63 matches needing the deciding frame to net a winner. Eleven of those came in round one, which of course is not surprising with 32 total matches in that round. At the business end, two quarterfinals and one semifinal went three sets. In 2023, there were 18 three matches in the ladies’ draw. None came after the round of 16 with eight coming in round one. That void in 2023 in the quarters, semis and final seems more of an anomaly when you look at the last four years, especially in the semifinals. Four of the last eight semis have gone three with at least one semi going the distance in six of the last seven runs of Wimbledon. That’s a place you don’t want to forget to look for those late in the tournament.

*Much like the gentleman’s draw, the focal point will be on the defending champions. Siniakova-Townsend did not play any together since their French Open quarterfinal run. Last year, they played just one match on grass before their Wimbledon exploits, so I don’t see it as anything to even factor into how they will do. What you like about them is that they’ve now played four Grand Slam tournaments with two finals (two titles) and nothing short of a quarterfinal. They’ll likely at least give themselves an opportunity to be in the mix near the end.

*The other focal point for me at Wimbledon until she retires is Hsieh Su-Wei. Wimbledon has by far been her best Slam during her doubles career with four titles with three different partners. She has made the final or semifinals the last four times she’s played here dating back to 2019. She comes with yet another different partner in Ostapenko this time around. The pair stumbled a bit through the clay swing with a disappointing 2nd round exit at the French Open to end things. They have not played together on grass yet, so this will be a new experience. Given Hsieh’s success here as well as Ostapenko’s (two SFs), they’re certainly right there at the top of the contender’s list regardless.

THE UNSEEDED MENACES

As I outlined earlier, unseeded pairs do have a nice history of making deep runs in London in recent times. You’ll likely see at least one in the quarterfinals and they’ve been able to wiggle their way into the semifinals too. Here is a look at the unseeded pairs who look the most menacing based on their draws.

Guo-Panova
You can’t look past the Eastbourne champs, even if they do reside in the Siniakova-Townsend quarter. The good news is they would avoid the top seeds until the quarterfinal round. All they have done is win when paired this year at 10-2 overall with two titles and they were a tie break away from making the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. They’re not in an easy section with Kichenok-Perez, whom they beat in Eastbourne, and Babos-Stefani. Still, this team looks lively and has momentum.

Kostyuk-Ruse
Another Grand Slam entry for these two and I think I put them on the list every time. It’s warranted as they showed in their Australian Open quarterfinal run earlier this season. This is their third Wimbledon together with last year’s round of 16 finish as the best result yet. They mainly play Slams together at this stage, but you can usually count on them to be one of the more difficult outs for seeds in their quarter. A potential round two clash with Hsieh-Ostapenko could well implode that quarter with an upset.

Danilovic-Potapova
This has been a tricky pair at the two Grand Slam events they’ve played in 2025. The French Open saw them at their best with a quarterfinal run ended by Andreeva-Shnaider. They would be in position to face the Russian wunderkinds in round two if both win their openers. Will a rematch produce anything different? The Russians have been rock solid at their two Slams (SFs), but have just one match on grass to their credit. Things may be more interesting than you’d expect in that quarter.

Gadecki-Krawczyk
A total guess on this one as the two will pair for the first time at Wimbledon. Gadecki was part of a pair that took a set off Siniakova-Townsend last year in round two at Wimbledon, while Krawczyk has been to a pair of semifinals here with two different partners. They’re in a quarter than looks a bit more open than some, so if they can find some chemistry early, they might be ones to watch.

Chan-Krejcikova
It’s almost unfair that this duo gets to be unseeded. Chan has made multiple quarterfinals here and a final back in 2017, while Krejcikova is a seven time doubles Grand Slam champion with two of those titles coming in London. They’ve played a handful of times together and did get one grass court match in at Queen’s Club, a super tie break loss to Hunter-Krawczyk. Continuing with the theme of second round blockbusters, they could see Errani-Paolin in round two. That could well decide the entire quarter.

Azarenka-Krueger
These two looked legit in their first team-up back in Madrid. They made a semifinal run on clay with a win over Muhammad-Schuurs and a narrow loss in the semis to Kudermetova-Mertens. Stop me if you’ve heard it before, but look at their potential round two clash against Khromacheva-Stollar as a tipping point in that part of the quarter. Khromacheva-Stollar looked good on grass early, winning six of seven. Since, they’ve lost two straight when the competition level took an uptick. This pair has real upset potential and more.

ONE AND DONE WATCH

Will there be many or any upsets in round one? Historically, there have not been a ton each year. There have however been a slew of upsets as I pointed out with seeds in the top six falling early. Let’s take a look at any that may have some issues in their openers in London.

(2)Dabrowski-Routliffe
The 2024 runners-up will be playing just their second match together since May 22 when they start play against Wang-Zheng. That’s a pair that has seen them twice and split matches, winning on hard courts before Dabrowski-Routliffe rolled them on clay. There may not be much to suggest an upset is coming other than guessing about rust still with Wang-Zheng having lost four of their last five openers. Still, I’m hesitant about Gaby and Erin until they get that first win. Slams usually bring out their best though, so they may struggle some and get through this match. It still bears watching early.

(3)Errani-Paolini
Despite their run in Berlin, grass is still the shakiest surface for the Italians. They’re 4-3 in their careers on it and face a pair in Bucsa-Kato in round one that took them out in Miami this Spring. That said, Bucsa-Kato have only won their opener ONCE out of eight tournaments in 2025 and that came in Miami. They have only been blown out of one of those opening losses though, so I do think that they can keep pace in this one and put pressure on the Italians.

(9)Mihalikova-Nicholls
Yes, they won the Berlin titles over Errani-Paolini. That was the meat in a one and done sandwich on grass though with the seeds losing their openers in both Queen’s Club and Bad Homburg. The competition was harsh with Perez-Zhang and Babos-Stefani, so you can forgive those two. Still, Rakhimova-Siskova are nothing to sneeze at in round one. Remember, they took out Hsieh-Ostapenko in the French Open.

(15)Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova
This is a pair that made the Hertogenbosch final, but they’ve played super tie breaks in seven of their eleven matches together. That indicates a close one could be on tap when they face Blinkova-Yuan to start. Blinkova-Yuan played one tournament together this year on hard courts in Austin .. and won it. I’m expecting a tight affair and there may be some upset potential in this one.

DRAW PREVIEW

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TOP HALF

First Quarter
The first quarter sees bookend seeds in (1)Siniakova-Townsend and (7)Kichenok-Perez. Let’s start in the Kichenok-Perez half where this new pair come in having shown some solid chemistry in making the Eastbourne final last week. Three of their four matches went to super tie breaks, so that is something to think about this week. It could be that the kinks are still being worked out with that being their first tournament or it could be a warning sign that they teeter right on the win/loss line most times. They’ll start with Xu-Yang who had a nice semifinal run in Eastbourne. They split four matches on grass and have mostly been overpowered by the better pairs they face. It will be an interesting opener, but I feel that Kichenok-Perez will advance. Aoyama-Shibahara could be the pair they face in round two, a former Wimbledon semifinalist back in 2021. They have not paired much since 2023 however and have not seemed to have the same chemistry as far as results. Linette-Pera are their first round foes, another duo with Grand Slam experience. Their lone match in 2025 was a three set loss in round one at the French Open. They’ve played Wimbledon twice with a 1-2 record.

The other side of that lower half of the quarter is where things could get real fun. You have Babos-Stefani as the seeds plus unseede menace Guo-Panova in off that magical Eastbourne run. Olmos-Zarazua could be a tricky opener for Guo-Panova, so I wouldn’t put a second rounder against Babos-Stefani in pen. It still looks the most likely match-up and could provide a fun round two clash. I feel like Guo-Panova would be the bigger threat to Kichenok-Perez for the quarterfinal spot than Babos-Stefani. That pair has been steady, but they’ve also mostly fallen short against the better pairs they’ve faced. That includes Kichenok-Perez who cruised 6-3, 6-2 when they met last week in Eastbourne.

As for the Siniakova-Townsend half, the top seeds don’t look to have a big challenger early on with Bondar-Uchijima to open. That pair has just one career match together and the top seeds have mostly made a habit of taking care of business early without a ton of drama at Grand Slams. If they drop a set, it’s been the opener and then they turn up and go into beast mode to win in three. I don’t think they’ll need three in this spot. The question will be if they’ll see a seed before the quarterfinals? I talked earlier about Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova having a potential tough one in round one with Blinkova-Yuan. Should they escape round one, it would be a surprise if we didn’t see them battle Siniakova-Townsend in the round of 16. I would expect a competitive battle, but I’d have a hard time going against the defending champs to move on.

Are there any surprises waiting in this quarter for Siniakova-Townsend? I definitely feel like they will get challenged as the rounds roll on. The round of 16 might be the first test with a quarterfinal likely to be even tougher. I’d expect Kichenok-Perez or Guo-Panova in that spot. There might be an outside shot for a pair like Babos-Stefani, but I really think the other two pose a bigger threat to the defending champs.

My Favorite: Siniakova-Townsend
My Sleeper: Guo-Panova

Second Quarter
This quarter has plenty of talent with (4)Hsieh-Ostapenko and (5)Andreeva-Shnaider leading the charge. Hsieh almost always puts up a good result at the All-England Club, so it will be interesting to see how she works with Ostapenko on grass for the first time. They should get off to a solid start, but round two may be big trouble with Slam specials Kostyuk-Ruse potentially in the path. (14)Alexandrova-Zhang are the other seeds in the Hsieh-Ostapenko half. They played well in limited action during the clay swing with an upset of Errani-Paolini highlighting their 4-2 record. Hozumi-Sutjiadi could be on tap for them in round two. It’s hard to look past Hsieh-Ostapenko in this half as long as Ostapenko isn’t moping about her early singles loss. Do keep an eye on Kostyuk-Ruse if there’s a surprise in this section.

The other half of the quarter sees Andreeva-Shnaider looking to continue their big tournament success. The Russians have played two Grand Slam events in their burgeoning careers with both ending in semifinal runs. The fifth seeds have only played one grass match, so they’ll be seeking their first career win on the surface in round one. We could get a French Open quarterfinal rematch between Andreeva-Shnaider and Danilina-Potapova in round two. Andreeva-Shnaider took that one 6-3, 7-5. Mihalikova-Nicholls are the seeds in the other part of this half. They’ve been solid on grass the last two seasons (10-5) with a third round finish at last year’s Wimbledon. Cirstea-Kalinskaya are an intriguing combo in this section. The unseeded pair won the Madrid titles in their lone career tournament together. That stunner included wins over Hsieh-Ostapenko, Dabrowski-Routliffe and Kudermetova-Mertens. If they’re clicking, they could emerge as a sleeper in this section. If Andreeva-Shnaider find their footing on grass, they look the part of a powerful contender. I still wouldn’t be that shocked if they fell short of even a quarterfinal, but the draw looks workable for a potential blockbuster against Hsieh-Ostapenko.

There are definitely some twists and turns this quarter could take rather than seeing the showdown between the two highest seeds. I tend to favor Hsieh’s success here traditonally and for her to find a way to push Ostapenko towards a semifinal. I’m usually bullish on Andreeva-Shnaider, but I have a feeling they might lose a little bit early.

My Favorite: Hsieh-Ostapenko
My Sleeper: Alexandrova-Zhang

BOTTOM HALF

Third Quarter
(3)Errani-Paolini finally lost a match in the Berlin final. That ended a 13 match win streak that stretched back to Rome on clay. The result was their best on grass to-date, so that is a plus despite the loss to Mihalikova-Nicholls in the final. They made the round of 16 here in 2024 in their Wimbledon debut. I’m not a fan of their draw to be honest. Bucsa-Kato despite an atrocious overall record have been very competitive on all surfaces, so I think round one is going to potentially be a lot closer than most expect. If they survive, the reward could be one of the more stout unseeded menaces in Chan-Krejcikova. Looking to the other portion of their half, Dolehide-Kenin play just their third career match together as the begin play at Wimbledon. They did win on grass in their lone prep match in Berlin against Siniakova-Vondrousova, so that’s fairly impressive. I believe their draw provides a much better path to success than Errani-Paolini’s. It would be surprising for me if Dolehide-Kenin fail to get to the round of 16 with this set up. Who will they play? I’d look at the survivor between Chan-Krejcikova and Putintseva-Stearns as a real threat. Keep an eye on Stearns if she plays as she was hobbled at the end of her rond one singles loss on Monday.

The other half of this quarter features (6)Muhammad-Schuurs who had a great run in winning Queen’s Club. They did lose two of three on grass after that title, so it still highlights their vulnerability from match to match. Fernandez-Sun could provide a bit of a test in round one, but I think the seeds work through to round two. It looks like a decent shot for Muhammad-Schuurs to continue their ride through to the third round. Eikeri-Ninomiya have experience in that section, but their results have mostly been mediocre. Birrell-Joint might be the ones to look at more in that first round match. Although they have not paired together, but have shown plenty of talent on the doubles court. Joint has two doubles titles in 2025 and comes in off the Eastbourne final paired with Hsieh. Birrell has Slam experience, mostly in Australia, but has nonetheless scored some wins with different partners. They’re a combo that could emerge as a bit of a revelation in this section if the chemistry is there. (12)Jiang-Wu are the other seeded pair in this half. They lost three of four in grass prep, their first time on grass together. We’ll see if they drew well or not with Chinese duo Tang-Zhu making their debut together in round one. The unseeded pair in this section that could be an engrossing follow is Gadecki-Krawczyk. Two seasoned doubles vets partnering for the first time. They’re ones I think have a shot to push through this section into the round of 16, unless they just absolutely have no chemistry.

This quarter is more compelling that most think. Errani-Paolini’s draw is tough. Muhammad-Schuurs are one of those teams that runs very hot and cold. I’d looking at Dolehide-Kenin amongst the seeds, but really believe this quarter might be tailor-made for an unseeded pair to rise up. Chan-Krejcikova immediately jump out, but also think about Gadecki-Krawczyk and perhaps a real shocker like Birrell-Joint. I think the only concern on that Chan-Krejcikova pairing is if the 2024 singles champ can hold up physically to double duty deep into the tournament.

My Favorite: Muhammad-Schuurs
My Sleeper: Gadecki-Krawczyk

Fourth Quarter
The final quarter sees last year’s runners-up, (2)Dabrowski-Routliffe, as the lead seeds. They were fabulous on grass a year ago at 12-3, but come in at 0-1 this year due in part to Dabrowski missing time with injury. As such, it’s a bit of a wait and see attitude on them for me. They had begun to find their rhythm on clay before Gaby’s shoulder injury, so the form was there at that point. Round one to me is the litmus test. Wang-Zheng are an experience duo, but one that Dabrowski-Routliffe crushed on clay in Strasbourg. If everything is right physically, I’d expect the seeds to pass the test with flying colors. The other seed in their half of this quarter is (13)Khromacheva-Stollar. They looked good in grass prep (6-2), but take that with a grain of salt as they failed to measure up to the best pairs they played in that stretch. Still, they could be a threat. I think the fascinating foe for them could be Azarenka-Krueger in round two. It’s not a given that happens with Minnen-Niculescu as very capable foes for that pair in round one. I do think either pair can push Khromacheva-Stollar in the second round. Listen, if Dabrowski-Routliffe find the win column to start and there are no physical questions, then I think you have to like their chances of being in the quarterfinal mix.

The other half houses two solid seeds in (8)Kudermetova-Mertens and (11)Siegemund-Haddad Maia. Both have reasonable paths to setting up an absolute banger in round three against each other. Kudermetova-Mertens have been a steamroller since they paired back up in early May in Madrid. They’ve gone 13-3 with back-to-back finals on clay and nothing short of a quarterfinal in all four tournaments played. Mertens has been an absolute terror at this event in doubles with three finals trips and a championship in three of the last four runs. Last year, she made the semifinals. Coincidentally, Kudermetova was on the losing end when Hsieh-Mertens won the titles here back in 2021, so she too has some good history in London. The test for them comes likely in round two against Eastbourne champs Bouzkova-Danilina. I won’t entirely dismiss their chances, but that Eastbourne run did not feature any pairs with the experience of Kudermetova-Mertens.

Siegemund-Haddad Maia got a long awaited title together in Nottingham, beating a Danilina-led pairing in the final. That pushed their record to 19-7 this season and they have been one of the more consistent pairs, currently running 7th in the live rankings. Baptiste-McNally may be a tough opening foe, but I think the 11th seeds can get the job done. I wouldn’t be stunned if that one went three sets however. Keep an eye on British wild cards Burrage-Kartal in this section. They were very competitive on grass during the Wimbledon build-up and faced both Siegemund-Haddad Maia and Bouzkova-Danilina. Both were losses, but both matches were pretty close overall. I still think we’re on a collision course between Kudermetova-Mertens and Siegemund-Haddad Maia for the quarterfinal berth out of this section. Siegemund-Haddad Maia have stepped up against the upper echelon pairs and been very competitive, but they’ve certainly lost more than they’ve won. I’d have to give Kudermetova-Mertens the edge if that match goes down.

The seeds certainly look the strongest plays in this quarter. I think the biggest question really is if Dabrowski-Routliffe can recapture the magic they had during the grass court season last year. I think getting in the one match before Wimbledon did help, even in losing. For me though, it’s Kudermetova-Mertens as the favorites. I think if Bouzkova-Danilina were in a different part of the draw, I might rate them as an unseeded menace with potential. I just think it’s going to be awfully tough for them to do damage with a lot of top tier teams to likely contend with in a path to any sort of deep run in this quarter.

My Favorite: Kudermetova-Mertens
My Sleeper: Azarenka-Krueger

CLOSING TIME

The last few years at Wimbledon have been heavy on top four seeds doing the deed at the end of the tournament. Six of the last seven runs at Wimbledon have seen a top four seed come through as champions. There have been a pair of unseeded champions sprinkled in the last eight years, but it’s been tough for them to get there with big chances. Consider the last two who won, Hsieh-Strycova and the Williams, were previous champs who just happened to be unseeded due to a lack of play in the particular years they won. So for me, that makes the contender’s list on the ladies side a bit shorter than the men. Siniakova-Townsend’s quest for history has plenty of road blocks along the way, but their resume speaks for itself as contenders in their short time together at Grand Slams. For me, Hsieh-Ostapenko look like the other top four seed with a shot to be in the championship mix. They are in the same half as the defending champs, but Hsieh’s resume at the All-England club is impossible to skip over. Dabrowski-Routliffe and Errani-Paolini for me are top four seeds on the outside looking in as far as contenders. I’d put the Italians ahead of last year’s runners-up though, but I still think their path to a final is littered with some tough outs. They may prove me wrong, but I’ll be looking past them.

Outside of the top four, you certainly have some pairs to consider. Kudermetova-Mertens are at the top of my list as the #8 seeds. And even though I’m selling on their chances this time around, (5)Andreeva-Shnaider have proven they’re big tournament threats in doubles time and time again. I’m just not sure that grass is the surface where they’re going to have the best run right now. Not to mention they might have to go through Hsieh-Ostapenko and Siniakova-Townsend just to get to a final. If there’s a rank outside surprise that emerges as a title contender, look to the unseeded field with experience like Chan-Krejcikova or maybe a red hot pair like Guo-Panova. It should be a great tournament to see if history can be won by the top seeds or if someone steps up to stop the repeat effort. Here’s my top three choices

PIG PIX

Kudermetova-Mertens
Siniakova-Townsend
Hsieh-Ostapenko