Wimbledon is just around the corner, and it’s time to make some early predictions. Who’s looking good in the women’s game after two weeks of action on the grass?
Read on as we breakdown which WTA players have been in form so far this grass season, and give our early WTA Wimbledon predictions ahead of the year’s third Grand Slam starting next week.
Form WTA players of the grass court season so far
It’s been a strange old grass season so far on the WTA Tour. Admittedly, there’s a small sample size, with just one WTA 500 and three WTA 250s being completed so far. Even so, there’s only been one repeat quarter-finalist across the two weeks, with plenty of upsets, illness and injuries going around.
With that said, here are the WTA players who have scratched together some semblance of form so far on the lawn:.
- Ons Jabeur
This name may come as a surprise, but Ons Jabeur (image above) is our top form WTA player of the grass season so far. The Tunisian has not won a title over the past fortnight. However, she is one of the only women to show any degree of consistency between events.
At the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, Jabeur strung together two wins over Camila Osorio and Linda Fruhvirtova to make the quarter-finals. Both were impressive straight sets victories. She then fell in an absolute arm-wrestle against No 6 seed Karolina Pliskova, 7-6(8), 6-7(3), 7-5, in a match that could well have gone either way.
The next week in Berlin, Jabeur backed up her effort by making another quarter-final. This time, the former world No 2 defeated Xinyu Wang and Linda Noskova across the first two rounds, winning a deciding set against the latter. In the quarter-final, Jabeur faced world No 2 Coco Gauff and lost a brilliant tiebreak 11-9 in the first set.
She was then forced to retire due to illness, handing the victory to Gauff. While illness 10 days out from a Grand Slam isn’t ideal, we’re not too concerned and like the look of what the former Wimbledon finalist is bringing on grass.
- Jessica Pegula
Behind Jabeur, we have Jessica Pegula as our next form WTA player on grass.
The American lost early at the Libema Open, falling in the second round to Aleksandra Krunic after defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets to open her campaign.
However, in Berlin last week, Pegula was very impressive. She swept past Donna Vekic in straight sets, before surviving a three-setter against Karolina Siniakova in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, she blasted past compatriot Gauff in two tight sets, before winning the title in a tight 6-7(0), 6-4, 7-6(3) clash against Anna Kalinskaya on Sunday.
It’s been a quiet year for Pegula, with the 30-year-old failing to keep pace with the big four in the WTA right now. However, there are promising signs that she’ll be more than competitive on grass in 2024.
- Yulia Putintseva
Next we have Yulia Putintseva, who won the WTA 250 in Birmingham over the weekend. The Kazakh didn’t play the week before, so we haven’t seen too much of her on grass this year. What we have seen, however, is impressive.
Putintseva didn’t drop a set across her first two rounds in Birmingham, defeating Clara Burel and Anhelina Kalinina in one-sided affairs. Next, she saw off Caroline Dolehide in a three-setter, before racing past both Elisabeta Cocciaretto and Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets to win the title.
- Katie Boulter
It’s been an up and down grass court season for Katie Boulter so far. The Brit began her season so well, blasting her way to the title at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.
En route to her third career title, the 27-year-old defeated compatriot Harriet Dart, Canadian Rebecca Marino, No 5 seed Magdala Frech and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. She then toppled No 6 seed Karolina Pliskova in the final, prevailing in a thrilling three set match.
Unfortunately, Boulter was unable to back up her Nottingham performance the next week, retiring after one set of her first round match in Birmingham.
- Liudmila Samsonova
Rounding out our form WTA players this grass court season is Liudmila Samsonova. The Russian stormed her way to the Libema Open title a week ago, winning her fifth career title.
The 25-year-old raced through her opening three rounds without dropping a set. She then gritted out two tight wins in the semi-finals and final, defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-1 and Bianca Andreescu 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the tournament.
Samsonova was also unable to back up her title, however. She lost in the first round in Berlin, falling in three sets to Veronika Kudermetova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Our early WTA Wimbledon predictions
So, what does this volatile grass court season mean for our WTA Wimbledon predictions? Well, it’s hard to say exactly how things will unfold until we’ve seen the draw on Friday, but based off the past fortnight’s action, here are the early WTA Wimbledon predictions we’re confident making.
Jessica Pegula will hold seed
Pegula’s title in Berlin came at the perfect time. The American has had a patchy season so far, and was in danger of slipping out of touch of the rest of her top five rivals.
Now, with a WTA 500 under her belt as she heads into Wimbledon, we’re confident that she’ll at least hold seed. This means making the quarter-finals at a minimum, and not getting upset beforehand.
Pegula’s groundstrokes look sweet on grass, and her serve has a little extra bite. Expect her to be well placed come the tournament’s second week, and maybe even capitalize on some openings in the draw to make an even deeper run.
Ons Jabeur will make the semi-finals
Speaking of players who have come into form at the perfect time, Jabeur will be thrilled to get some wins under her belt.
Wind back the clock a few months, and the world No 10 couldn’t buy a win, losing seven of her first 10 matches in 2024. Now, with a quarter-finals in Madrid, Paris, Nottingham and Berlin, the Tunisian has a good degree of momentum heading into Wimbledon.
She’s made the final here twice before. With the likes of Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka withdrawing from their most recent matches, plus Iga Swiatek’s well known weaknesses on grass, Jabeur has a real shot of making the top four at Wimbledon.
Katie Boulter will cause an upset
Britain’s Boulter showed some brilliant tennis in her run to the title in Nottingham a week ago. The 27-year-old isn’t quite at the level of being a title contender in London next week.
However, with the confidence of a recent title, plus a big Wimbledon crowd behind her, she’s more than capable of pulling off an upset or two at the year’s third Grand Slam.
With it looking as though Boulter will nab a seeding this year as well, she will have the opportunity to get a few wins under her belt before she comes up against a big name too. At that point, she could be a real handful.
Who do you think will make a deep run in the women’s draw at Wimbledon this year? Let us know in the comments below.
