We will see a new champion for the seventh year in a row in the women’s singles division, as Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova are set to compete in the Wimbledon final for the first time ever in their WTA careers.
Paolini and Krejcikova made it this far by causing upsets along the way, as the former managed to defeat Madison Keys and Bianca Andreescu in the early rounds while the latter got important victories over Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina previously.
This final is important for both competitors, perhaps more so for Jasmine Paolini, because this might be her first career Grand Slam victory.
Meanwhile, Sonay Kartal has put herself on the map after impressing in SW19, as the 22-year-old was the biggest gainer in the WTA rankings.
Learn more about the latest Wimbledon 2024 results and updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Paolini on the brink of making history
If Jasmine Paolini wins the final later, not only will she get her first career Grand Slam, but she’ll also make her country proud in the process.
Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach a Wimbledon final in the Open Era after losing in the opening round in each of her three previous appearances, and now she’s vying to become Italy’s first Wimbledon winner.
The 28-year-old is the definition of “heart over height.” At 5’4”, she climbed her way up to seventh in the WTA rankings because of her tournament results this year.
After never making it beyond the third round of a major event, Paolini did so for the first time in Roland Garros and actually made it all the way to the final, eventually losing to Iga Swiatek, ranked No. 1 in the world.
Prior to the final, Jasmine Paolini only needed 58 minutes to eliminate Emma Navarro in the quarter-finals before outlasting Donna Vekic in the semi-finals, which reached a record of two hours and 51 minutes.
Paolini became the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach both the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same season.
Williams lost to Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final before beating Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final, and it makes you wonder whether Paolini will experience the same outcome.
Nonetheless, no one can deny that Paolini has been on an amazing run, as she is going to crack into the Top 5 of the WTA rankings, win or lose later.
Krejcikova is playing inspired
Barbora Krejcikova is also on a mission to make her country proud. The 28-year-old became the fifth Czech Republic player to reach a Wimbledon final in the Open, with other champions including two-time winner Petra Kvitova, Marketa Vondrousova, and Jana Novotna.
Because she knows what it takes to win a Grand Slam, having triumphed in the 2021 French Open, Krejcikova (no. 32) is favoured by the Wimbledon 2024 odds to win later, even if she is ranked lower than Paolini in the WTA rankings.
Unlike Paolini, Krejcikova has had a rough year, as she was hampered with a nagging back injury and illnesses after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January. Since then, she has only played nine singles matches, winning only three.
After winning a three-set thriller in the opening round against Veronika Kudermetova, Barbora Krejcikova defeated her next four opponents in straight sets before bumping into Elena Rybakina.
Krejcikova would drop her opening set against the fourth-ranked player in the world, but she bounced back by winning the next two sets.
After eliminating Rybakina, Krejcikova said in her post-game interview that she will be dedicating the final to Jana Novotna, who coached her before she died of ovarian cancer in 2017.
Kartal gets huge rankings bump
Sonay Kartal came to Wimbledon with low expectations because she was ranked 298th in the world. However, fast forward to today, and she is now ranked 190th in the world, which is the biggest surge in rankings in the WTA after the major event.
The 22-year-old wildcard did it by acing her qualifiers and winning two consecutive Wimbledon matches against Sorana Cirstea and Clara Burel before losing to Coco Gauff in the third round.
Besides Kartal, Lulu Sun and Emma Raducanu also gained a lot in SW19, with the former jumping from No. 123 to No. 53 and the latter set to move 41 places up.
Sun was the one who ended Raducanu’s 2024 Wimbledon run, as she won 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the Round of 16. The New Zealander eventually lost to Donna Vekic in three sets in the quarter-finals.
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