Iga Swiatek aiming to serve up storm at Wimbledon amid wide-open field

In the past seven years, the women’s title at Wimbledon has been won by six first-time champions, the post-Serena Williams era offering opportunities for many to shine. While this year’s event includes three former champions, last year’s winner, Marketa Vondrousova, the 2022 champion, Elena Rybakina and 2018 champion Angelique Kerber, the overriding sense is that a seventh could be on the cards. Just who that will be is a trickier question than it might seem, with doubts surrounding many of the leading contenders.

“It’s a very frustrating one. The most annoying thing is that I can do anything. I can practice, I can hit my groundstrokes. I’m struggling with serving. That’s really annoying. You don’t feel like you’re injured. If you give me some weights, I’m going to go lift some weights. But if you tell me to serve, I’m going to go through pain.”

Rybakina has pulled out of several events in the past few months because of illness and goes into the event cold, having withdrawn from Eastbourne last week due to a “change in schedule”. Coco Gauff, having climbed to world No 2 after reaching the semi-finals at the French Open, could be a real threat and the fact there have been six new champions in the past seven years has not been lost on the American.

“It gives you confidence obviously when you see that the field isn’t stacked, in the way where there’s one player dominating or three players dominating,” she said. “I think everybody has an equal shot and it’s just about who can perform better that week.”

The sentimental favourite, however, is sure to be Ons Jabeur, who has lost in the final two years in a row. In a recent documentary, she revealed she had planned to have a baby had she achieved her dream of winning a grand slam title. The scar tissue of being so close is still there but the Tunisian, who has battled a knee injury in the past year, believes she can get over the line.

“I am just going one match at a time, trying to enjoy it,” she said. “It’s been a bit tough. But if I make it a third year in a row to the final, that would be like a dream. And I know I have the capacity of doing it. I’m working on myself a lot. But I can see myself winning this beautiful tournament, hopefully.”