Wimbledon women's singles preview, prediction: Chance to rekindle 'Big Three' rivalry but who is the outright favourite?

For long has the question loomed large - who after Serena Williams in women's tennis? And now we have not one, but three of them - Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina - the top three ranked players in WTA tour and the combined winners of the last five majors - making the women's singles draw at the Wimbledon no longer a wide-open affair.

"There are three players now that could be the [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic of women's tennis, and we know who they are: Iga, Aryna and Elena," 18-time Grand Slam winner Chris Evert had said earlier this year in March. Put this in perspective to the Wimbledon draw and women's section still has some curiosity left just like the halcyon days of the ATP tour. Unlike the men's draw, where Novak Djokovic is the man to beat, there are no favourites among the Big Three in women's draw.

FIRST QUARTER:

This could finally be the year for Swiatek on grass. After having two failed experiences at Wimbledon, where she never made it past the fourth round, and which includes a third-round exit at the hands of Alize Cornet last year, Swiatek arrives at the SW19 with much more confidence having recently made a semi-final run at Bad Homburg before withdrawing due to illness.

ALSO READ: Wimbledon men's singles preview, prediction: Hunt for king slayer continues as Djokovic stand undisputed favourite

What adds to Swiatek's advantage is the comfortable draw she has been handed. The first seeded player she will face is Petra Martic (30), in the third round, before running into one between Eastbourne finalist Daria Kasatkina or Coco Gauff in the quarters. She owns both the players with a respective head-to-head record of 5-1 and 7-0. Her only loss to the Russian came in 2021 on grass in Eastbourne.

SEMIFINALIST: Swiatek beat Gauff

SECOND QUARTER:

There are two big names in Jessica Pegula and Caroline Garcia - seeded no. 4 and 5 respectively. But despite their record over the last 12 months, neither stand favourite to go past this quarter. The Frenchwoman did make the quarters in both Berlin and Eastbourne (withdrew due to injury), but her Wimbledon record of 10-9 makes her case weak. The American, on the other hand, whose best show at the SW19 has been a third-round appearance, lost to Gauff in the quarters in Eastbourne.

Based on recent results, no.12 seed Veronika Kudermetova and no.20 Donna Vekic could make the most of this opportunity to make their respective maiden quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. The Russian made the final in Libema Open before pulling out of a quarterfinal tie in Berlin, where the Croat made a run to the final after defeating reigning Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari. But two could be on collision course in the third round

SEMIFINALIST: Vekic beat Pegula

ALSO READ: From world no.1 Swiatek to defending champion Rybakina, here are top 5 contenders for Wimbledon 2023 women's crown

THIRD QUARTER:

This is the toughest section of the draw with as many as four former Grand Slam winners, including two Wimbledon winners, and two former major finalist. It is just the kind of draw anyone would avoid, let alone the alone the defending champion in Rybakina. The Kazakh has been handed arguably the toughest draw. She will be up against Shelby Rogers in her opener with Cornet waiting in the second round before she runs into Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round. The Latvian won the Birmingham Classic before withdrawing from the quarters at Eastbourne with an injury. Rybakina has won both her matches against Ostapenko in 2023 but the world no.3 heads into the tournament with not her best form. After her illness in Roland Garros, she lost in in the second round in Berlin before pulling out of Eastbourne event sparking fitness concern.

If Rybakina does go past the first week, a bigger threat in Petra Kvitova awaits, who recently won the title in Berlin. However, the two-time Wimbledon winner hasn't gone past the pre-quarters at SW19 since her second title in 2014.

SEMIFINALIST: Kvitova beat Rybakina

FOURTH QUARTER:

Sabalenka is first name that comes to notice, largely because of her exploits in Australian Open earlier this year and her 2021 run to the semis in Wimbledon. However, she heads to the tournament with a 1-1 record like Rybakina, having suffered an early exit in Berlin. She could face early threat of one between Karolina Muchova, who defeated her in the Roland Garros semis last month, or Ekaterina Alexandrova, who won the Libema Open and made the semis in Eastbourne.

From the top half of this quarter, in-form Madison Keys could fancy her chances after a title win in Eastbourne, although she has made it past the fourth round only once in Wimbledon, back in 2015.

SEMIFINALIST: Alexandrova beat Keys

SEMIFINALS: Swiatek beat Vekic ; Kvitova beat Alexandrova

FINAL: Swiatek beat Kvitova

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