The red dust had barely settled on Iga Swiatek’s fourth French Open win earlier this month before talk turned to Wimbledon. Much was made of the fact that that Swiatek’s idol, Rafael Nadal, won his first title at the All England Club in 2008 hard on the heels of a fourth victory in Paris; might she follow suit? The Polish world No 1 was circumspect in her response – “Tennis is different on grass,” she ventured – and, three weeks on, a Wimbledon draw packed with former major winners will have done little to temper that caution.
Swiatek, a quarter-finalist last time out, will get her campaign underway against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who defeated Coco Gauff in the opening round 12 months ago. It will be a repeat of their first-round meeting in Melbourne earlier this year, which Swiatek won in two hard-fought sets. The 23-year-old also defeated Kenin to win her first title at Roland Garros in 2020.
Swiatek could face Germany’s Angelique Kerber, whose three grand slam victories include the 2018 Wimbledon title, in round three, ahead of a projected meeting with Jelena Ostapenko, another former major winner. The 13th-seeded Latvian has won all four of their previous meetings – although, if she is to get a crack at a fifth, Ostapenko will first need to negotiate an intriguing opener against Alja Tomljanovic, the Australian wild card who accused her of faking injury during a feisty third-round win in 2021.
Swiatek is projected to face Marketa Vondousova, the Czech defending champion, in the last eight. Vondrousova will play Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in the first round and could go up against Danielle Collins, the 11th-seeded American who is competing at Wimbledon for the final time, in the last 16.
If the seedings hold, Swiatek will play former champion Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals. The 25-year-old from Kazakhstan opens against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and could face Ons Jabeur, whom she defeated to win the title two summers ago, for the third year in a row in the last 16. The Tunisian, seeded 10th, will begin her bid to reach a third straight final against Moyuka Uchijima of Japan.
In the bottom half, third seed Aryna Sabalenka will open her campaign against Emina Bektas of the United States. The Belarusian, who practised with Jabeur on Centre Court shortly after the draw was made on Friday morning, is expected to face Qinwen Zheng in the last eight, in what would be a repeat of this year’s Australian Open final.
Propping up the draw is Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, who will start her first major as the world No 2 against fellow American Caroline Dolehide. Should the 20-year-old advance to the last eight for the first time, she could face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, the eighth seed and French Open finalist, who reached the Eastbourne semi-finals this week.
Domestic interest will centre on Emma Raducanu, who opens against Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 22nd seed, and Katie Boulter, the British No 1, who faces a potentially tricky start against former semi-finalist Tatjana Maria.