Martina Navratilova Predicts Who Will Be the Women’s Singles Wimbledon Champion After Record-Breaking Upsets

Over 23 seeded players across the men’s and women’s singles draws have exited the Wimbledon Championship after early losses. That has created room for players outside the Top 10 and some unseeded players to hope for the title. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has predicted who will become the women’s singles Wimbledon champion.

In the first round of the women’s circuit, Coco Gauff lost to Dayana Yastremska, while Jessica Pegula fell to Elisabetta Cocciaretto, both in straight sets. In the second round, World No.5 and last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini was dumped out of the tournament, while Qinwen Zheng suffered a heavy defeat.

Also, World No.9 Paula Badosa fell to British star Katie Boulter surprisingly. In fact, Aryna Sabalenka is the only player in the top 5 seeds that is yet to exit the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

The early losses of several top players at the All England Club has led Martina Navratilova to analyze on BBC Sports coverage that the bottom half of the draw is open to any player. She pointed out the fact that the top seed in the bottom half is Mirra Andreeva, following the loss of Zheng:

The tennis legend then added that with the draw open, it is the best opportunity for Elena Rybakina to win the tournament. She supported her claim stating that Rybakina is the favorite to win it because she won it in 2022 beating Ons Jabeur in the final:

So you know there is a massive opportunity for you to get through. There is a big hole in the draw. That whole bottom half is wide open and maybe Rybakina’s the favorite now even though she’s only seeded 11th. She has obviously had the best results here in the past.

Rybakina is in the third round of the Wimbledon Championship after beating Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the second round. The former champion will now face Clara Tauson for a place in the fourth round of the tournament.

Madison Keys becomes the latest top player to exit the Wimbledon Championship

World No.6 (now ranked 8th) Madison Keys became the latest victim of top players’ exits at the Wimbledon Championship. The American was projected to at least reach the quarter-finals of the tournament but she suffered a 3-6, 3-6 loss against Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the third round at the All England Club.

Keys, who was the favorite to win the match, having won 13 of her last 14 Grand Slam matches this season, made 31 unforced errors. The lackluster display allowed Siegemund to dominate the match. The German became the oldest women’s player to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon in the Open Era.

Siegemund has won only two matches at Wimbledon heading into this year’s edition of the tournament. She has been a formidable doubles player for most of her career, winning the 2020 US Open and 2024 WTA Finals. Her best results in the doubles at Wimbledon were reaching the quarter-finals in 2023 and 2024. Also, she won the Nottingham Open doubles alongside Beatriz Haddad Maia ahead of Wimbledon.

Siegemund will now face Argentina’s Solana Sierra for a place in the quarter-finals on Sunday (July 6). Any of them will be in the Wimbledon singles quarter-finals for the first time in their careers.

Also Read: “Absolutely Absurd” – Fans Fume as Wimbledon Play Suspended When Ben Shelton Served for Match

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