2026 Grass Court Awards: Top of the Class
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A(nother) Czech crushes it...
A moment Linda Noskova will never forget 💫#Wimbledon
pic.twitter.com/jjfJ7tGjyb
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2026
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...a healthy, match-tough Krejcikova is a very, very dangerous Krejcikova. Just check her major trophy case.
Well, after taking the spring and early summer to begin to round into form, reaching a tour final and Wimbledon Round of 16 in the process, Krejcikova has started her hard court summer with a title in the inaugural event in Athens. Hmmm.
Wins over Viktoriya Tomova and Carole Monnet preceded the stopping of a getting-there Zheng Qinwen and late-night takedown of top seeded Clara Tauson, as Krejcikova pushed all the way into the final on Sunday against favorite Greek daughter Maria Sakkari. There, rallying from 4-1 down in the 1st, then an early break in the 2nd, Krejcikova grabbed her ninth career tour singles title with a 7-6(5)/6-3 win.
It's her first title since she won at Wimbledon in 2024.
Now an impressive 20-8 on the season, the Czech is back inside the Top 30 and pointed toward an appointment in New York in a little over a month. She's reached a pair of QF at Flushing Meadows, in 2021 and '25.
RISERS:Tamara Zidansek/SVK and Oleksandra Oliynykova/UKR
...Zidansek left a lot on the court in Iasi, competing for more than ten total hours over four matches en route to her first WTA semifinal since 2024 (Hua Hin).
After rallying from a set down vs. Emiliana Arango to win in 2:26 in the 1st Round, Zidansek took 3:31 (tying for the long MD WTA match of '26) to escape Anna Bondar, but only after failing to convert a pair of MP in the 2nd and 3rd sets before finally pulling off a break-and-hold combination to get the win. The Slovak followed up with a 1:47 win over Petra Marcinko, Zidansek's shortest match of the week.
In the SF vs. Paula Badosa, Zidansek went another 2:36 against the Spaniard, failing to serve out the win in both the 2nd and 3rd sets (Badosa broke at love in the latter to force a deciding TB) and then falling 7-1 in the breaker.
Zidansek's last tour final appearance came in Lausanne in 2021, the same season she put up her biggest career result with a SF run at Roland Garros (which included a QF win over Badosa, via an 8-6 3rd set).
Meanwhile, though she's spent much of '26 turning attention upon herself and publicly slandering a good percentage of the opponents, Oliynykova has at times also played some pretty good tennis.
This season, the Ukrainian has made her slam MD debut at three straight majors (reaching the RG 3r), played in her maiden BJK Cup competition, reached her first WTA semi in Cluj-Napoca and cracked the Top 50.
Back in action this week in Iasi, she ended her recent four-match losing streak by playing her way into a second SF of the season (oddly enough, with both coming in Romanian-hosted events) with straight sets wins over Ipek Oz (two TB), Elena Pridankina and Clara Burel before a 3 & 1 loss to Mayar Sherif a round short of her biggest career final.
Oliynykova will re-enter the Top 50 on Monday, climbing to a new career-high of #46.
SURPRISES:Lanlana Tararudee/THA and Francesca Jones/GBR
...Tararudee continues to surf along the crest of the Southeast Asian wave led by the likes of Alex Eala (i.e. the WTA's Player of the Year come November should the tour decide to slip her name into the online fan vote for top player just to spruce up the participation numbers).
In Istanbul, the 22-year old Thai #1 picked up her second 125 title fo the season, taking the honors with down-the-stretch "V-is-for-Victory" wins over Vera Zvonareva, Vendula Valdmannova and Hanne Vandewinkel (note: the ages of the latter two, at 18 and 22, are less *combined* than that of the 41-year old Zvonareva).
In 2026, Tararudee has made her slam MD debut in Melbourne, cracked the Top 100 and recorded her first MD victory at a major at Wimbledon. She won a previous 125 title in Austin, defeating Bianca Andreescu in the final, and also reached a $100K title match in Tokyo this spring.
She'll climb to a new career high ranking just outside the Top 80.
Meanwhile, 2026 has already been quite a season of career highlights for Jones, as earlier this year she recorded her biggest career win (her maiden Top 15 victory, def. Emma Navarro at Auckland en route to the QF), then posted a win over idol Venus Williams in Miami (her first at a 1000 event), and soon after recorded her first career slam MD win at Roland Garros, as well.
So, Jones' title run this week in a 125 in Rome would seem "minor" in comparison, except when you consider that around those very high highlights have been a lot of scuttling and disappointment for the Brit. She came into the week at 11-17, having dropped from a career high of #65 in February to #123 coming out of Wimbledon.
Her Auckland run was ended by retirement with a thigh injury, then she also retired in the 1st Round of the AO. In Miami, she exited after the Williams win due to illness a round later. In nearly every match, Jones has a medical time out, and she's retired from four different matches in '26. So, that she was actually able to play and *complete* a full tournament this week in Rome was something of a victory in itself. That she won the crown was a spectacular bonus.
In Rome, Jones posted victories over Noma Noha Akugue, and (vs. back-to-back Italians) Martina Trevisan (SF) and Lucia Bronzetti (F) before a partisan crowd. It's Jones' third career 125 win, with the other two also having come last season in July in the weeks that followed -- just like this year -- a 1st Round exit at SW19.
Hmmm... maybe the AELTC inspires her?
Fran Jones 🇬🇧 thrashes Lucia Bronzetti 🇮🇹 6-3 6-1 to win the WTA Rome Challenger singles title
Excellent week in Italy. Big points to defend next week through in Palermo
VETERANS:Mayar Sherif/EGY and Chan Hao-ching/Miyu Kato, TPE/JPN
...a week after winning a record tenth 125 title in her career in Contrexeville, Sherif went to Iasi and put herself into position for what could be her second career tour-level win.
The Iasi final, delayed by rain all day on Sunday, is scheduled to finally take place on Monday.
The Egyptian vet posted wins over Dalma Galfi, Kaitlin Quevedo, Yulia Putinteva (in a 3rd set TB after Sherif couldn't serve things out) and Oleksandra Oliynykova to reach her fourth career WTA final (she's 1-2).
Sherif is set to face off with Paula Badosa, also a winner a week ago (in Bastad) of a 125 title in an event that took place during the second week of Wimbledon.
NOTE: Sherif defeated Badosa in the final when the Spaniard retired down 6-4/4-0.
In Athens, the thirtysomething duo of Chan & Kato survived a trio of MTB to advance through to and win the final, outlasting the likes of Korneeva/P.Kudermetova (QF), Chong/Piter (SF) and Lumsden/Tang (F) to claim the crown.
It's the first tour title for both since the 2024 season, with 31-year old Kato grabbing career win #6 and 32-year old Chan taking home her 22nd WTA title (she'd lost in her last five tour-level finals).
...a week after picking up a 125 title in Bastad, her first on any level since winning in Washington in 2024, Badosa carried over her good health (crossing fingers) and fine form into Iasi, reaching her first tour-level final since her D.C. title run two summers ago.
Badosa carried her momentum through victories over Anhelina Kalinina, Alevtina Ibragimova (in 2:48), Panna Udvardy and Tamara Zidansek, outlasting the Slovak in 2:36 despite Zidansek serving for the match in both the 2nd and 3rd sets. Badosa dominated a 7-1 tie-break to reach her fifth career WTA final. So far, she's 4-0.
With nine consecutive wins, Badosa won't know what comes next untl Monday, as rain pushed the Iasi final into the start of next week.
Badosa's 2026 season has been spotty in terms of results. Earlier this spring, she lost five straight matches, and was 2-7 in a stretch, but the Spaniard did record an Austin SF run in March, reached the Charleston 3rd Round and upset Coco Gauff en route to the Berlin QF before her current Bastad/Iasi surge.
Her nine-match run has pushed Badosa's record over .500 to 20-15.
NOTE: Badosa retired from the final vs. Sherif when trailing 6-4/4-0.
Maria Sakkari comes back to WTA Final for the first time since march 2024 and she does it at home!
Sakkari's comeback campaign finally went public in Athens, as the overdue debut of a new WTA event within Greek borders allowed Sakkari to show off the progress she's made in '26 as, after three straight Top 10 seasons (2021-23), she completed her recent fall by finishing 2025 ranked outside the Top 50 at season's end for the first time since 2017.
On home hard courts, Sakkari ran off wins over Polina Kudermetova, Harriet Dart, Alycia Parks and Alina Korneeva to reach her first tour final since Indian Wells in 2024.
Maria Sakkari reaches the Athens final after beating Korneeva 6-1, 7-5 👏
Unfortunately for Sakkari, even at her career peak, winning finals hasn't ever really been in her repertoire. This time, with the crowd behind her, the Greek lost a 4-1 1st set lead to Barbora Krejcikova to drop the opener, then let slip an early break advantage in the 2nd en route to a straight sets loss to the Czech that dropped Sakkari to 2-9 in career WTA finals. Her only win since 2019 came in Guadalajara in 2023.
Still, even before this final, Sakkari's resurgent efforts in '26 had already seen her reach a 1000 SF in Doha, the 3rd Round at the high-level trio of IW-RG-WI, and post a pair of Top 10 wins for the first time since '23 (including a career-best matching win over Swiatek in Doha, her fourth win over a world #2).
Sakkari will climb to nearly U.S. Open seed range on Monday, coming in at #33 after last having been that high in March (when her Doha SF/I.W. 3r stretch finally pulled her safely out of the Top 50+ doldrums).
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A first WTA semifinal since 2024!
Alina Korneeva beats Tereza Valentova 7-5, 6-3 in a meeting between 2 junior sensations, reaching the semifinals of the Athens Open.
Some brilliant shots from Alina throughout the encounter. Will face home favourite Maria Sakkari next! pic.twitter.com/Ync74FXFZe
FRESH FACES:Alina Korneeva/RUS and Sinja Kraus/AUT
...Korneeva, a former two-time junior slam champ three years ago ('23 AO/RG), played her way into her first SF of the season in Athens, notching wins over Aoi Ito, Ann Li and Tereza Valentova before falling to home favorite Maria Sakkari.
Already this season the 19-year old Hordette has picked up a pair of singles titles (a 125 and $75K), qualified at back-to-back majors (RG/WI) and cracked the Top 100 for the first time after ending the '25 season ranked at #215.
To that she adds her second career WTA semi (w/ Merida '24) and another new career-high, as she'll rise from #90 to inside the Top 80.
Meanwhile, in Kitzbuhel, Kraus won the all-Austrian final battle on Austrian clay to claim her second career 125 crown (w/ Cali in November) with a 6-3/6-1 victory over Julia Grabher.
The 24-year was already riding the wave of a breakout year during which she's cracked the Top 100, made her 1000 MD debut (Miami) and appeared in her first two career slam MD matches at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Sinja Kraus 🇦🇹 remporte Kitzbühel !
Les spectateurs ont été gâtés en voyant deux locales s'affronter pour le titre.
Kraus a dominé sa compatriote Julia Grabher (6-3, 6-1) pour glaner son deuxième WTA 125. La joueuse de 24 ans est 80e en live : meilleur classement en carrière ! pic.twitter.com/CDFOHzU1zX
— Haute Cadence - WTA (@Haute_Cadence) July 19, 2026
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ITF/CHALLENGER CIRCUIT:Alicia Dudeney/GBR
...the ITF tour recently changed its name to "World Tennis" since, you know, none of the other various tennis tours are world tours. So it makes total sense and isn't stupid at all. At any rate, I guess I'll start referring to this winner as the "Challenger Circuit" player of the week.
23-year old Brit Dudeney was already the circuit title leader this season, and the former Florida Gator added another title to her total this week with her fifth '26 win at a $50K in Nottingham.
Dudeney made her slam MD debut at Wimbledon two weeks ago, and arrived having lost four straight tour level matches, going 2-6 during the grass season after winning back-to-back challenger titles in May. She kept up her mastery at the lower level, closing out her return to her winning form with victories over Hannah Klugman and Naiktha Bains in a 6-3/7-6(5) final.
Dudeney has now won her last 15 matches at the challenger level, where she's gone 30-2 since late March.
...in Iasi, Detiuc became another Czech to lift a title in recent weeks, joining with Khromacheva as they claimed their first title together but second overall tour title for both this season.
A 10-5 MTB win over Alina Charaeva (in her first event as an Armenian) and Zhibek Kulambayeva finished off a run that included a SF victory over #2 seeds Maleckova/Skoch. It's Khromacheva's 12th career tour title, and the third for Detiuc.
...WC doubles #1 Zhu added to her vast collection of titles this weekend, winning her 13th doubles title this season with a win at the WC50 level event in Geneva alongside Guo Luoyao. Guo, with whom she's won twice this year, is one of five different players to share titles with Zhu in 2026.
Zhu just completed the sweep of the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles with Yui Kamiji.
But she didn't end there. Zhu also grabbed her second singles title of the season, defeating Jinte Bos (SF) and Guo (F) to finish off her sweep.
1. Iasi 2nd Rd. - Tamara Zidansek def. Anna Bondar
...7-6(5)/6-7(5)/7-5. The jewel/marathon portion of Zidansek's long week (10:20 on court over 4 matches) in Iasi, as the Slovak tried but couldn't salt the match away vs. Bondar on a tighter schedule, but ultimately took the long journey (as in 3:31) to victory.
Zidansek failed to serve out the 1st set at 5-4, but then rallied from 5-3 down in the TB with four straight points. She then led 4-1 in the 2nd set, holding a MP at 5-4. After Bondar staged a comeback and served for the set at 6-5, Zidansek got the break to force another TB, this one claimed (also 7-5) by the Hungarian.
In the 3rd, again, Zidansek couldn't close out the win when serving at 5-4, holding a MP before being broken on a fifth BP chance. But she broke Bondar in the next game, then *finally* served out the win in a match that tied for the long tour-level MD contest (w/ AO 1r, Jacquemot def. Kostyuk) so far this year.
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2. Iasi SF - Paula Badosa def. Tamara Zidansek
...3-6/7-5/7-6(1). If not for her win over Bondar, *this* would have been Zidansek's long outing. As it turned out, the Slovak's excessive overtime over the course of the week likely did her no favors.
Zidansek led Badosa by a set and 5-3, and served for the match at 5-4. Badosa swept the final four games of the set to force a decider, where *again* Zidansek failed to put things away with things on her racket on serve. Serving a 6-5, she was broken at love by the Spaniard, then saw Badosa dominate a 7-1 TB to advance to her first tour final in nearly two years.
Former world #2 Paula Badosa defeats Tamara Zidansek in a dramatic 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1) battle to reach in Iasi (WTA 250) her first final in almost two years.
Also, Badosa came about a fly's wing away from being justifiably defaulted from this match due to this dangerous and reckless racket fling.
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3. Iasi 1st Rd. - Clara Burel def. Varvara Lepchenko
...2-6/7-5/6-3. Burel prevails over 40-year old Lepchenko, who held a pair of MP at 5-4, 40/15 in the 2nd set.
Lepchenko, 13-17 on the year, is one of four fortysomething singles players to hit the court in tour events in '26, along with 46-year old Venus Williams (0-8), 44-year old Serena Williams (0-1) and 41-year old Vera Zvonareva (12-10, with even more success in doubles).
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Top seeds Vera Zvonareva and Ena Shibahara are the WTA125 Enka Open champions!
They defeat Tatiana Prozorova and Alexandra Shubladze 6-3, 3-6, [10-8] in a tightly-contested final, with this being Bepa's 30th doubles win of the season. pic.twitter.com/YvseoLBnVl
4. Istanbul 125 Final - Ena Shibahara/Vera Zvonareva def. Tatiana Prozorova/Alexandra Shubladze
...6-3/3-6 [10-8]. Zvonareva, 41, reached the singles QF in Istanbul, but played all the way to the doubles title alongside Shibahara.
While the likes of the Williams sisters have filled numerous headlines with their matches, Zvonareva has had far, far, far more success this season. So far, she's played in the WD/MX at all three majors (reaching the AO semis and RG QF), reached three tour-level doubles finals (going 1-2, winning in Bad Homburg a few weeks ago) and played in a pair of 125 doubles finals with Shibahara (1-1). In December, she reached the singles/doubles finals of the same $100K event in her first tournament in a year and a half after shoulder surgery.
She came into the week ranked #18 in doubles.
Zvonareva's 42nd birthday arrives in September. The last remaining Original Hordette played in her first slam final twenty-two years ago (2004 U.S. MX), and played in a pair of slam finals in singles (RG/WI) in 2010, losing to Serena and Kim Clijsters.
...4-6/6-2/7-6(10). The seventh time proved to be the charm for Monnet.
The Pastry served for the win at 5-4 in the 3rd before Masarova forced a deciding tie-break. Then things really got crazy.
Monnet held triple MP at 6-3, but moments later had to *save* a MP at 7-6. The Pastry had four more MP over the remainder of the breaker, finally converting on her seventh MP of the day to win 12-10.
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6. Athens SF - Barbora Krejcikova def. Clara Tauson
...6-1/4-6/6-3. Top-seeded Tauson reaches her first SF since Abu Dhabi (but posts her second QF+ result in her last three events).
Krejcikova nearly got off the court in straights here, having led by a set and a break on two occasions (at 3-2 and 4-3), only to give back her break lead in the following game in both instances. She then dropped serve for a third straight time and headed to a 3rd set, where she finally subdued the Dane to reach her second final (w/ Rosmalen) in a matter of a few weeks.
If Tauson had managed to win she'd have faced Maria Sakkari in the final, the same player who upset her in the opening round at Wimbledon in between her Bad Homburg QF and this result.
...6-7(4)/6-2/7-5. Hontama rallied from 5-1 back (and 4-0 in the TB, w/ seven straight points) to take the 1st set, lost the 2nd, then staged a comeback from 4-0 down in the 3rd, winning five straight games and holding a MP on return at 5-4. And then she didn't win another game.
I mean... really? All that for n-o-t-h-i-n-g.
8. Athens Final - Barbora Krejcikova def. Maria Sakkari
...7-6(5)/6-3. Krejcikova spoils the Greek party in Athens, rallying from 4-1 down in the 1st to snipe the set from Sakkari in a 7-5 TB, then erasing an early break deficit in the 2nd to win in straights.
With the win, Krejcikova becomes the fifth Czech tour singles title winner in the last five WTA title-winning weekends. She's the third (w/ Noskova and Muchova) to reach multiple finals during the short stretch, having withdrew due to illness from the Rosmalen title match with Robin Montgomery last month.
...6-3/6-4. Another week, another Crusher champion.
In this case, 21-year old Struplova lifts her seventh (and biggest) career title on friendly ground in Olomouc.
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Well, you had to know she couldn't go through an entire season *totally* unscathed...
Karolina Muchova underwent a small surgery after the Wimbledon final.
She will miss Toronto, but says she’ll be back soon.
“I had to undergo a small surgery that will keep me off the court for a few weeks. Everything went well, and I'm already working on my recovery. Thank… pic.twitter.com/AtPMwMs9F4
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 18, 2026
Apparently, we've hit the WTA wedding day "sweet spot" moment of the season...
Liudmila Samsonova and Alessandro Dumitrache are officially married today in Rome!
It reads a little like a letter announcing the intention to blackmail someone (...anyone), to be honest. Also, this seems to set up a potential throwing-an-anvil-at-an-ant situation or more down the line.
This guilty-until-proven-otherwise approach will destroy the WTA. Unfortunately given the rabid nature of the current political scene, it might be a nightmare to undo this ridiculous announcement. https://t.co/MtlwasoroM
I wonder how this would impact, say, someone like a Sarah Gronert, who played mostly on the ITF circuit about fifteen years ago? I mean, other than making her a target for vicious social media trolls and their sort.
I do wonder if this is coming about not because of some "bending to cultural pressure" situation, but maybe a "bending to IOC" pressure one instead, with the tour doing what is necessary to satisfy *that* organization and keep WTA players eligible for future Olympics.
Remember, the ITF made changes in wheelchair eligibility classification a few years ago in order to maintain the sport's Paralympic status by being in line with the necessary policies there (it ultimately ended Marjolein Buis' career a bit early because she was no longer deemed "disabled enough").
Loïs Boisson, who started her 2026 season in Madrid in April due to a right arm injury, won’t defend her Hamburg title: She injured left knee in a fall at the end of match vs Rybakina at Wimbledon. Same knee that took her a year (ACL in 2024) before her incredible semifinals run at RG last year.
Meanwhile, the "Alex Eala gets too much attention" cult and the "Venus Williams gets too many wild cards" aficionados will be holding their first annual dual 2026 convention in Washington this summer...
67 year old #Madonna has just scored her 13th number 1 album.
Not bad for someone who was told by Smash Hits magazine to ‘put it away, grandma!’ when she was 35!
*30-vs.30 WTA FINALS in 2020s*
2021 Nottingham - Konta (30) d. Zhang S. (32)
2024 Cluj-Napoca - Pliskova (31) d. Bogdan (31)
2024 Rouen - Stephens (31) d. Linette (32)
2026 Dubai - Pegula (31) d. Svitolina (31)
2026 Eastbourne - Keys (31) d. Maria (38) = oldest combo (69)
2026 Athens - KREJCIKOVA (30) d. Sakkari (30)
*2026 MULT.DIFFERENT WTA CHAMPIONS BY COUNTRY*
5 - CZE: Bejlek,Bouzkova,KREJCIKOVA,Muchova,Noskova
5 - USA: Keys,Montgomery,Navarro,Pegula,Stearns
2 - CRO: Marcinko,Vekic
2 - UKR: Kostyuk,Svitolina
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[1-BLR,EGY,ESP,GBR,ITA,KAZ,ROU,RUS]
*LOW-RANKED 2026 WTA CHAMPIONS*
#484 - Robin Montgomery (Rosmalen)
#120 - Katie Boulter (Ostrava)
#101 - Sara Bejlek (Abu Dhabi)
#97 - MAYAR SHERIF (Iasi)
#80 - Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Hobart)
#76 - Donna Vekic (Queen's Club)
#76 - Petra Marcinko (Rabat)
#63 - Cristina Bucsa (Merida)
#62 - Peyton Stearns (Austin)
*2026 MOST FINALS (w/ TITLES) BY NATION*
11 (8) - CZE*
11 (5) - USA
10 (5) - UKR
5 (3) - RUS
4 (3) - BLR
*2026 LOW-RANKED WTA FINALISTS*
#484 - Robin Montgomery, USA (Rosmalen, w/o W Krejcikova)
#209 - Veronika Podrez, UKR (Rouen, lost to Kostyuk)
#124 - Tamara Korpatsch, GER (Ostava, lost to Boulter)
#119 - Taylor Townsend, USA (Austin, lost to Stearns)
#115 - PAULA BADOSA, ESP (Iasi, lost to Sherif)
#114 - Maja Chwalinska, POL (R.Garros, lost to Andreeva)
#112 - Tatjana Maria, GER (Easbourne, lost to Keys)
#101 - Sara Bejlek, CZE (Abu Dhabi, def. Alexandrova)
*2026 WTA FINALS ON MOST SURFACES*
3 - Jessie Pegula = Hard,Green Clay,Grass
3 - Karolina Muchova = Hard,Red Clay,Grass
2 - Mirra Andreeva = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Elena Rybakina = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Marta Kostyuk = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Coco Gauff = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Elina Svitolina = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Victoria Mboko = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Emma Raducanu = Hard,Grass
2 - Marie Bouzkova = Red Clay,Grass
2 - Emma Navarro = Red Clay,Grass
2 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA = Grass,Hard
*WORST ACTIVE WTA FINAL WIN PCT. - 3+ F* [0 wins]
0-5 - Aliaksanda Sasnovich, BLR
0-5 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
0-4 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
0-3 - Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
0-3 - Anhelina Kalinina, UKR [1 win]
1-7 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
1-3 - Lucia Bronzetti, ITA
1-3 - Gabriela Ruse, ROU [2 wins]
2-9 - MARIA SAKKARI, GRE
2-5 - Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
One of the most jarring things about adulthood is the realization of how many truly incompetent people are in the most important jobs. When I was a kid, I just assumed everyone “important” was smart or they wouldn’t be important. Boy, was that fucking wrong.
Trump says Democrats forgot to rig the election in 2016, successfully rigged it while *he* was president in 2020, then forgot how to rig it again in 2024. So the only election Democrats supposedly stole was the one he himself controlled.
Grass Court Top Players list & post-SW19 Ms.Backspin Update: HERE
Grass Court Top Players list & post-SW19 Ms.Backspin Update: HERE
EDUCATING LINDA
...Linda Noskova joins the long (and lengthening) list of Czech grass court champions, following up her title in Berlin by "graduating" to grand slam champion status with her maiden major title at Wimbledon, winning the first all-CZE women's final at SW19 in a three-setter over Karolina Muchova. She's the third different Czech to raise the Venus Rosewater Dish in the last four years.
MUCHOVA MOUNTS HER PEAK
...amidst what has quickly become her career year (aka "Peak Muchova"), Karolina Muchova puts on a run to the Wimbledon final that included three straight wins over multi-slam winners in Krejcikova, Osaka and Gauff, saving a MP vs. the latter in a 12-10 MTB in the semifinals. After rallying in the final vs. fellow Czech Linda Noskova, who led 6-2/5-2 and had five MP in the 2nd set, Muchova ultimately fell in three sets.
A FINAL SPOKE IN THE WHEEL
...Yui Kamiji was the wheelchair #1 *before* the start of the dominant Diede de Groot era (when the Dutch star won 15 straight majors). Last year, Kamiji regained her top position after de Groot's recovery from hip surgery, but in '26 has far weathered the gradual returning-to-form of de Groot as well as the rise of the Chinese stars (Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying). At Wimbledon, she swept the s/d titles, with her solo effort -- courtesy of a shocking 6-0/6-0 win in the final over back-to-#2 de Groot -- allowing Kamiji to claim the only major title that had eluded her. It completed her Career Golden Slam, joining de Groot as the only WC women to have achieved the feat as well as matching her rival's previously unique women's WC collection of every s/d crown at all four majors *plus* the Paralympics *and* year-end Masters event (aka a "Career Super Slam" in both disciplines).
OH, LUCKY DONNA
...grass court-loving Croatian Donna Vekic goes from lucky loser in London to Queen's Club champion with wins over Marie Bouzkova, Karolina Pliskova, Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu. In what was her sixth career tour-level final appearance on grass at a *fifth* different event (after previous runs in Birmingham, Nottingham, Berlin and Bad Homburg), it's Vekic's second WTA grass court title.
A PRELIMINARY CRUSHING
...prior to her SW19 triumph, Linda Noskova altered the course of everything by sweeping the singles and doubles titles in Berlin, finishing off her run with wins over Alex Eala and Jessie Pegula before coming back to win the delayed doubles finale on Monday with Ekaterina Alexandrova. Noskova, previewing her trip to London, was the third different Czech to win the Berlin singles in four years.
ANOTHER CZECH, PLEASE
...guess what! The Crush of Czechs producued yet *another* singles champion this grass season, as Marie Bouzkova's run in Nottingham helped to make it four Czech winners in the seven tour-level grass events held this year. Wins over Tatjana Maria and Emma Navarro highlighted the week, which then led to a 4th Round run at Wimbledon (where Czechs made up a quarter of the final sixteen women left in the draw).
CZECH, CZECH, CZECH and... CZECH
...at Wimbledon, Jana Kovackova becomes the first to complete a Career Girls Doubles Slam with her fourth straight major title. After winning the first two with her sister Alena, Kovackova has teamed with fellow Czech Crusher Katerina Zajickova to win RG and Wimbledon to become the first duo to win those two slam titles in succession since 2013 (fellow Czechs Krejickova/Siniakova). They also won this year's Roehampton doubles crown.
MUCHOVA PROVIDES A PEEK
...before her Wimbledon run, Karolina Muchova picked up her maiden grass court title in Bad Homburg, not losing a set en route to the title, claimed when Naomi Osaka retired shortly after dropping the opening set in the final. Muchova would later defeat Osaka in a *completed* match in the Wimbledon QF.
THE EALA ELEVATION
...Alex Eala's star continued to rise on the grass, as she won a 125 title in Birmingham, notched a pair of Top 10 wins en route to the Berlin SF (a loss to Noskova), then ended Iga Swiatek's WImbledon reign on her way to becoming the first Filipina woman to reach the Round of 16 at a major.
LAWN COURT LOVE IS JUST AS GOOD THE SECOND THIRD TIME AROUND
...meanwhile, the English lawns have always been Madison Keys' friend, and her third career win at Eastbourne proved that the relationship continues. She won her maiden tour title at age 19 in Eastbourne in 2014, then picked up two more grass titles ('16 Birmingham, '23 Eastbourne) in later years, yet she's never been able to translate that success to a late-stage run at SW19 (Keys fell in the QF to eventual champion Noskova this year). She didn't lose a set all week in Eastbourne, coasting to her fourth win in four career grass finals, defeating Tatjana Maria in the title match. It's the most titles any woman has won in the event since Martina Navratilova won her *eleventh* crown back in 1993. Chris Evert is the only other three-time winner (w/ all three coming between 1974-79).
H.M.
Dart/Lumsden (Nottingham WD win makes first GBR champs at event); Guo/Mladenovic (Wimbledon WD win; Mladenovic's 10th slam WD/MX title, Guo's first); Martina Hingis (wins Wimbledon Invitational MX w/ Tommy Haas, becomes only female to have won six of the seven available titles: girls' singles, WS/WD/MX and Invitational WD/MX); Robin Montgomery (#484's comeback from injury results in first WTA title at Rosmalen); Olivia Nicholls (Queen's Club title w/ Mihalikova; first Brit to win WD at event); Alona Ostapenko (Wimbledon MX; has won slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed; the only other active women to do it are Serena, Venus and Krejcikova); Anna Pushkareva (Wimbledon girls' title is second consecutive major won by a Russian junior this year)
Naomi Osaka says her Wimbledon outfit was inspired by Lucy Liu in Kill Bill:
"When you're coming out for a first round match. That striking amazing outfit you came out in... how much of a difference does that make and tell us about the inspiration for it.."
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 29, 2026
*IMAGINE THERE... were no clothing rules... IT'S EASY IF YOU TRY*
The grass season (thanks to the AELTC) isn't exactly the time for unique (colorized) fashion, but this was a 2026 sighting of a nice complimentary color scheme for the lawns...
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 4, 2026
That photo is so Iconic it made me make this Gif. Alexandra Eala : Funniest Sports Play In Tennis History : Alfred Memes Too #GIFSpic.twitter.com/qCw9ura5c0
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 9, 2026
*FASHION SHOW, Pt.4 (aka "Thank You, Yonex")*
Diana Shnaider's switch from Adidas to Yonex has finally paid off in the bandanna department, as the new sponsor did what the other couldn't: provide her with an acceptable all-white bandanna (w/ logo, of course) that she could wear at Wimbledon.
Impressive turnaround from Diana Shnaider who won 11 of the last 12 games in the match to beat Eva Lys 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of Wimbledon!
Endured through a slow start but quickly erased a 2-5 deficit and found the rhythm on her shots.
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 9, 2026
*WHEN THE EYES ARE *NOT* BIGGER THAN THE STOMACH*
Linda Noskova says she looked at the trophies before starting the 3rd set against Muchová & told herself she was going to take the big one, even if she had to leave her soul on the court:
“I was telling myself that the match is starting over. I was in the bathroom. I splashed… pic.twitter.com/eBMOsxXcMx
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 11, 2026
1. Wimbledon SF - Karolina Muchova def. Coco Gauff
...6-2/1-6/7-6(12-10). Coming into this semifinal vs. #7 Gauff, Muchova had already knocked off a pair of multi-slam title winners in consecutive matches vs. Barbora Krejcikova and Naomi Osaka. Against Gauff, she saw yet another on the other side of the court. Only this one arrived with a 6-1 record against her in their career head-to-head.
Ah, but in this potentially "Peak" season the series had seen Muchova finally collect both her first set (in Melbourne) off Gauff, as well as get her first win (in Stuttgart) over her ahead of their first meeting on grass, a surface on which Muchova's variety-filled game (w/ its glorious slice shots and picturesque volleys) has always felt like a more natural fit than Gauff's.
Meanwhile, "A"-game or no, no one fights like Coco, and she arrived after winning four straight three-setters to reach her maiden Wimbledon semifinal (two in a row from a set down), one win away from reaching the final at a third different major.
In the opening set, Muchova was the much steadier player. She broke Gauff to lead 2-1, then staved off a pair BP a game later as Gauff's errors (including on a missed overhead, usually a solid shot in her arsenal) kept the Czech an arm's length ahead. Riding the wave, Muchova broke again to lead 4-1, then overcame a love/40 deficit in game 6, winning five straight points to hold for 5-1 as Gauff (who commented "so many errors" to herself mid-point) continued to search for some measure of consistency. Two games later, Muchova held from 15/30 to win the 1st at 6-2.
But Gauff surely wasn't going away. She's won more matches from a set down this season than any top player, and she turned things around in the 2nd. Muchova saved a BP and held in game 2, but Gauff's renewed surge carried her through the set. After a love hold, she broke the Czech to lead 3-1, then consolidated her edge with a hold a game later. She claimed the set 6-1, and seemed ready to race into the decider.
Up 2-1 in the 3rd, Muchova held a pair of BP at 15/40 in game 4, but Gauff held to prevent the set from getting away from her early. Still, while Muchova wasn't cashing in on opportunities, she was aggressive while Gauff was clearly more tentative than she would have liked. Muchova's holds kept her a half-step ahead on the scoreboard throughout, and when Gauff managed to (tapping her imaginary wristwatch?) to carve out a well-timed challenge, such as her two BP chances at 4-4, the Czech answered the threat and didn't blink.
Winning a series of rally battles, Muchova held for 6-5, even as she began poking at the right side of her chest with her finger and wincing (oh-no). Gauff held to force a match tie-break for a spot in the final, as she tried to win her second (after rallying from 7-4 down in the MTB in the 2nd Round vs. Solana Sierra) during the fortnight.
It turned out to be the stretch of the tournament on the women's side, with both players bringing their best, with multiple iconic moments/shots and MP held by both women.
A Gauff volley error gave Muchova the early 2-1 lead, then the Czech picked off an ankle-level volley to go up 3-1.
A big serve gave Muchova a 4-1 lead, but a point later Gauff pulled off a long run to chase down a ball and send it back. When Muchova couldn't keep her reply in the court, Gauff clung to life at 4-2. Then Muchova had the shot of the match (tournament?), completing a diving volley winner to lead 5-3.
Imagine pulling off a diving volley in a match tie-break.
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 9, 2026
The Czech followed with an ace to go up 6-3 (coach Sven Groeneveld patted his heart in the stands). But Gauff kept close at 6-5 by winning both of her serve points, then got a little bit of luck when a Muchova net cord shot landed out to tie the score at 6-all.
A few points later, a Gauff DF gave Muchova an 8-7 lead, but her back-to-back long errors (first a forehand, then a backhand) gifted consecutive points and a MP at 9-8.
With the match on her racket (literally), Gauff seemed to get caught by an odd bounce at the net, causing her to badly flub her drop shot attempt. Later, she said that the decision to attempt the shot was immediately complicated by a Muchova return that came back in a tricky spot and a bounce that caught her off guard. She admitted to panicking a little, but held to her belief that the shot was the right one to try (if things hadn't suddenly gone haywire).
Coco Gauff on the missed drop shot she hit on match point against Muchova, ‘People who don’t watch tennis are gonna be like, Why did you do that? But also if I make it, everyone’s gonna say how clutch of a shot that was’
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 9, 2026
Saved by the lawn, Muchova put up a lob in the next point that gave her a MP at 10-9, but with the win within reach a few moments later she slipped at the net during a volley attempt and saw Gauff's shot go past her and fall inside the baseline, tying the score again at 10-10.
Not discouraged, Muchova fired off a forehand to get her second MP chance. Her down the line ball proved to be unreturnable, ending the MTB with the Czech in the lead at 12-10, giving her an epic victory and a spot in her first Wimbledon final.
For the day, Muchova saved 11 of 13 BP. In th QF, Gauff had converted 5-of-5 BP chances vs. Jessie Pegula. The Czech's win made her the only woman this season with Top 10 wins on hard court, clay *and* grass.
===============================================
2. Wimbledon Final - Linda Noskova def. Karolina Muchova
...6-2/5-7/6-3. Sometimes a moment can change everything, and sometimes everything can change.
21-year old Noskova has experienced both ends of that spectrum during her still-early career, and she would do so again on Centre Court on the biggest day in her tennis life.
But it's all right... everything turned out just fine.
A few months ago, Noskova was a big-hitting young would-be star who'd challenged big-name players on multiple occasions in the past, but usually came up *just* short of coming out on top, often after forcing a tie-break or 3rd set, or holding a break lead at a crucial moment before being caught in the end. The Czech came into this spring having one won just one tour title, going 1-5 in WTA finals from 2023-25. But something changed this grass season.
To be fair, maybe *last* year's Round of 16 run at SW19 played a part. It was run that ended with a three-set loss to eventual finalist Amanda Anisimova, one that proved yet again that Noskova was *close* to *something*. This year, she retuned to this brief section of the schedule loaded for bear, winning the Berlin title and injecting herself into the women's discussion at SW19 with so many of the top-ranked players arriving in London with spotty form in recent months.
At this Wimbledon, after saving a MP in the 3rd Round against Sorana Cirstea, Noskova seemed to "graduate" from would-be contender to a player who truly looked like she felt as if she *could*, if not *would*, win her first major at *this* tournament. With flat power, a calm and confident demeanor, and the ability to raise her game to an untouchable late-in-set level in recent rounds, Noskova barreled her way through her previous three matches without losing a set. "I got this" seemed to be her outward mindset.
If she could keep her head down and more forward, shark-like, through the final as she has the second week, the women's title seemed Noskova's to lose.
But her opponent, Karolina Muchova, has been in "peak" form for most of this season. In 2026, she's put together the best half-season of her career as she's (finally) maintained her health, and as a result been able to gather some sense of momentum and match toughness for perhaps the longest stretch of her tennis life. After not having won a title since 2019, she won two in the season's first half, including one on the grass (her first).
It was a sight to see, as Muchova's is a most beautiful game, filled with the sort of variety and flair that can raise tennis to an art form. Having been tested and prevailed over the course of the second week at Wimbledon, she ousted three straight major title winners en route to her second career slam final, saving a MP in the semis and claiming an epic 22-point MTB over Coco Gauff on the strength of a series of swallow-hard moments and iconic points (a diving volley!) that will forever remain a part of the tennis resume and mind's eye memory of the Czech at her best once everything is said and done and her racket skills are but a memory that elicits a sly smile.
But the question remained whether she could bring her very best in this biggest moment, let alone against a power player in Noskova who has recently been seen moving through the draw in a precise, predator-like fashion.
The first official all-CZE Wimbledon final (altogether now, "Overdue!"), a contrasting duel between the last two standing members of the "Crusher Collective," promised to highlight that vast and deep history built at this tournament over the decades by Muchova and Noskova's list of successful countrywomen, from Martina (Navratilova, the "original Czech") to Hana (Mandlikova) to Jana (Novotna) and Karolina (Pliskova), from Lucie (Safarova) to Petra (Kvitova), the Barboras (Strycova & Krejcikova) and Marketa (Vondrousova), too (all SF or better performers at the AELTC since the 1970s).
For going on parts of six decades, the Czech women have at different times embodied both the beauty and fragility of tennis at Wimbledon, starring in both exhilirating highs and devastating lows, but always doing so while possessing a sense of self that compelled them to straighten their backs and come back for more.
We'd see all the Czech hallmarks come to the fore in this singles final, which would turn on a dime from being a somewhat sleepy display of one player's confidence (ala Navratilova) and calm under fire (ala Kvitova) to suddenly seeing the power and pressure of the moment bring everything crumbling down (ala Novotna) as one player's beautiful, all-court game (ala Mandlikova) and resilience (ala Vondrousova) emerged from trouble to hit its stride, only to see a "second chance" (also ala Jana) for the former to finish off a title run prove to be an opportunity too good to let slip through her fingers.
The women's final got underway a little past 4 p.m. London time in this second year of the new tradition of later-starting (by about two hours) women's and men's finals on the closing weekend of Wimbledon. Both women produced solid early service games on this sunny Saturday on which the Royal Box was littered with famous faces, from Princess Catherine to multiple Queens of the court (including the likes of former women's champions Billie Jean King, Maria Sharapova, Marion Bartoli and Simona Halep, as well as some with closer ties to the two finalists in Navratilova and Kvitova).
Wimbledon champions in the Royal Box today. Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, and Martina Navratilova. Princess Kate is there too 😁 pic.twitter.com/u6lPmYccwT
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 11, 2026
Noskova was the one to break through, taking a 15/40 lead on Muchova's serve in game 4 and on her second BP chance firing a backhand winner down the line to lead 3-1. Muchova's trio of long forehands in the game showed her inability to keep pace with Noskova's flat power shots in the 1st set. This wasn't a good development for Muchova, whose chances seemed incumbent on not falling behind early, considering the solid and steady set-long pace that Noskova had showed the last few rounds. Muchova managed to get to deuce on Noskova's serve in the follow-up game, but Noskova held for 4-1 (w/ a drop shot, of all things).
While Muchova wasn't playing poorly by any stretch, she suddenly found herself with her back against the wall as Noskova's recent not-bothered-by-the-occasion-nor-her-opponent form was present from the opening moments of the match. To her credit, like Marta Kostyuk in SF vs. Noskova, Muchova was playing nearly as well as possible, but it still wasn't near enough to rise to a level night enough to get on top of the #9 seed. Noskova blasted a well-placed ace to lead 5-2, and continued out-hitting her countrywoman in the next game, going up love/40.
Muchova got the game to deuce, but Noskova didn't blink, and on her fifth BP/SP she lobbed over her fellow Czech to take the set at 6-2, with Muchova never really having been given a chance or time to use her variety-filled game since she'd been on her heels just trying to stay in rallies.
Closing out the first set in style 🌱
Linda Noskova earns our @BetMGM shot of the day and is one set away from a first grand slam title 🏆
It was the seventh consecutive set won at this Wimbledon by Noskova since she faced down a MP in the 3rd Round, winning all of them with steady play throughout and a late surge to "close the deal."
Having ended the 1st with a break, Noskova got the chance to be a half-step ahead on the scoreboard in the 2nd. She held at love in game 1, then took a love/30 lead in game 2. Muchova managed to hold, then went up 15/40 in the following game. But, with the door ajar to get a lead, she again couldn't take advangage of the few opportunities provided her. Noskova wiped away two BP with big, precise serves and on a third BP saw Muchova provide a long forehand error. A sprayed second serve return was followed by a Noskova serve/forehand combo to hold for 2-1.
In game 5, Noskova's pair of reflex volleys gave her a 30/15 led, then she pulled out her full aresenal, smacking a backhand down the line into the corner for 40/15, then with Muchova-like variety utilized a drop-lob-crosscourt slice winner combination to hold for 3-2. With the finish line in sight, Noskova continued to push forward, challenging Muchova to keep up. It seemed that she couldn't. Noskova took a 15/40 lead in game 6, getting the break with a Muchova forehand shot that found the net. With a power display in the next game, Noskova held at love with an ace up the service "T" to open up a 5-2 lead, having won 10 of 11 points.
Just four points from the title, though, Noskova finally began to feel the moment. After never wavering throughout the second week of play nor through nearly two sets in the final, as she later said, her "wrist froze" as she began to lose speed on her groundstrokes and serve. As a result, Muchova's gave began to pick up accordingly in a stretch of five games that suddenly flipped the script in the match.
Still, Noskova saw three MP opportunities in game 8 in what turned out to be a 12-minute hold of serve from Muchova completed on her third GP chance. With Noskova next serving for the match at 5-3, another long drama ensued. She took a 30/love lead, but saw Muchova win three consecutive points and reach BP with a crosscourt forehand winner. Noskova denied two BP before seeing her own fourth MP. She double-faulted, then proceded to save three straight Muchova BP with aces, and another BP with a service winner. But another DF handed Muchova a seventh BP opportunity, and Noskova's wide forehand completed the break and put the set back on serve at 5-4. It was Muchova's first converted BP in ten chances in the match.
In game 10, Noskova saw her fifth MP at 30/40, but Muchova held yet again. A game later, Noskova was clearly wobbling, and not the same player whose calm under pressure got her here and who not twenty minutes earlier had seemingly been fated to win the Wimbledon title. She ended the set with her worst service game all week, pushing a forehand off a short ball long to drop serve again and trail 6-5.
Muchova served out the set at 15, winning 7-5 as a match that was almost assuredly "over" was suddenly going to a 3rd set as she won her fifth straight game.
During her short trip off court between the 2nd and 3rd sets, it was reported on ESPN that reporter Kris Budden had seen Noskova stop before the glass-encased Venus Rosewater Dish during the stretch, wordlessly staring at it. Late when asked what she was thinkingg to herself at the time, Noskova smiled and said, "I'm gonna get this trophy."
It shook shake her out of her spell.
Having regrouped, Noskova stopped the bleeding in the opening game of the final set, saving three BP to get the hold. She then broke Muchova in game 2. Despite seeing her GP chance in game 3 turned into a BP opportunity for Muchova, Noskova continued to keep her opponent off the board, holding for 3-0 as she seemed to be back to her recognizable second week form and emotional state.
Muchova pulled out her first tweener shot in game 5, but it was Noskova who fired a forehand winner a moment later to win the game. Back to barreling through Muchova, Noskova held for 4-1. From there things seemd to speed toward another "end game," with the drama being whether or not Noskova could hold her nerves *this* time. A solid hold at love put her up 5-2.
Serving once again for the title at 5-3, this time Noskova didn't waver. Her rally-ending forehand winner gave her a 30/15 edge, avoiding an early deficit, then an ace allowed her to reach championship point for a sixth time.
A big serve up the T off Muchova's racket finally ended things, as Noskova became the latest Czech champion at the All-England Club. Falling onto her back on the grass, Noskova's victory etched her into Wimbledon history.
After a sincere hug from the devasted Muchova, and burying her head in a towel in the changeover area (this time for a *good* reason), Noskova made her way into the stands for some love from her dad while, inside the Club, her name was being revealed on the Champions Wall (aka the Honour Boards).
Noskova is the youngest Wimbledon champion since 2011. That year, of course, it was another Czech -- Petra Kvitova -- who met all challenges to win her maiden title at SW19.
Nearly all Wimbledon roads lead back to a Czech, *some* Czech, eventually.
1 - Linda Noskova is the fourth-youngest player in the Open Era to claim her maiden Women’s Singles Grand Slam title in Wimbledon, older only than Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova. Opening.#Wimbledon | @Wimbledon@WTApic.twitter.com/eP2Hp45eio
After Noskova received the Venus Rosewater Dish from Princess Kate, Muchova channeled yet another Czech (see?), in this case Jana Novotna, as she was brought to tears after having come up short in the Wimbledon final. Then she brought the humor, delightfully referring to Noskova as now being her "ex-friend."
When it was her turn to take the mic -- two years after another Czech (see?) Barbora Krejcikova claimed this title and talked of finding inspiriation in the memory of her former coach and mentor, the late Novotna (at the time, I said that Krejickova had "a Jana on her shoulder" during her run) -- Noskova's voice broke as she recalled her late mother, who'd died on the eve of that same 2024 Wimbledon, saying that she wouldn't be here if not for her.
Like Krejickova did for Novotna, Noskova looked up and blew a kiss into the clouds for her mom. Rather than "a Jana" on her shoulder, Noskova had come with an Ivana.
In the end, both finalists displayed, in turn, moments of brilliance, resilience, humanity and a drive to succeed, Noskova and Muchova's efforts on this day managed to both honor and pay respect to all the Czech women that have come before them at Wimbledon, as well as those who'll now follow in "their" footsteps.
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3. Berlin SF - Jessie Pegula def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/6-7(4)/6-0. Another of the matches that Sabaelenka will want to throw into "the circular file" come the end of '26.
After Pegula took the opening set, Sabalenka raced to but lost a 5-2 lead in the 2nd, failing to convert two SP at 5-3 and then falling behind 3-1 in the tie-break. After a rain delay, she returned to take the breaker 7-4 and head to a 3rd. Ship righted, eh?
Nope, Pegula out-hit, out-served, out-hustled and out-thought her en route to a love 3rd, adding another chapter to what has once again become far too many crash-out endings to matches for a world #1 who has been the dominant player on tour for going-on multiple seasons, except for when she's gotten in her own way.
It was Sabalenka's first love 3rd set loss since, well, yeah, her *previous* tournament, against Diana Shnaider in the Roland Garros QF.
...7-5/5-7/7-5. Just your typical pro match-up of former juniors stars (Valentova won the RG girls' title, while Klugman was the jr. #1) ranked 351 spots apart -- '25 WTA Osaka finalist Valentova at #61, Klugman #412 after getting her maiden tour MD win in Nottingham -- that lasted 3:29.
18-year old Valentova claimed a tight 1st set on her sixth SP in a third different game, and served for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd before 17-year old Klugman forced a 3rd. In the decider, Valentova again failed to serve out the match at 5-4, but broke back in the following game and made good on her second chance by converting MP #2.
Valentova pulled another squandered lead out of the fire in the next round, rallying to win in three over Ajla Tomljanovic after losing a 6-2/3-1 lead, before falling in the QF to Tatjana Maria.
===============================================
Two-time Slam champ Barbora Krejcikova (RG 2021, Wimbledon 2024) plays great to beat 2026 RG champ (and Race #1) Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the 3rd round at #Wimbledon!
That's her first top 10 win in 18 months, first in a Slam since... winning Wimbledon two years ago pic.twitter.com/kL2sERlihN
...4-6/7-5/6-4.
On Centre Court, newly-minted RG champ and #5-seed Andreeva faced off with '24 Wimbledon champion Krejcikova in what was a true post-moment test for the teenager, who reached the QF at SW19 a year ago.
Andreeva was looking to avoid the earliest exit at Wimbledon by a woman who'd just won her maiden major time at Roland Garros since Li Na's 2nd Round SW19 loss after winning in Paris in 2011. Since then, the likes of Alona Ostpenko (2017 QF), Simona Halep (2018 3r), Ash Barty (2019 4r) and Krejcikova (2021 4r) had all at least followed up by posting *two* victories at the All-England Club. [Note: Iga Swiatek's 2020 RG win, of course, happened in the fall, so *her* next major was AO21, where she lost in the 4r.]
It was a back-and-forth affair. Andreeva overcame an early 3-0 deficit to win the 1st set 6-4, then when Krejcikova served for the 2nd at 5-3 the Hordette broke serve to keep hopes alive for a straight sets win. Eventually, the Czech broke Andreeva to take the set 7-5 and head to a 3rd.
Krejcikova pulled out to a 4-2 lead there, and served for what seemed like it would be an easy finish at 5-4. It didn't *quite* happen that way, though.
What occurred was an epic 15-minute service game that one wishes could only be bottled. In it, Krejcikova, working points to perfection to set herself up for victory held *six* MP, but Andreeva wouldn't lay down and let the "inevitable" happen. Finally, on her *fourth* BP, the 19-year old converted to put the set back on serve.
Things might have gotten *really* sticky down the stretch if Krejcikova had been dragged even further into battle (it's never a good thing when she has to overextend herself), but she took advantage of MP #7 and finally closed out the win to send the first Top 5 women's seed out of this year's Wimbledon.
Krejcikova d. Mirra Andreeva 4-6 7-5 6-4
BARBORA TAKES OUT THE REIGNING ROLAND GARROS CHAMP
The most dangerous unseeded player left in the draw
Some of the shots she hit today were literally breathtaking
6. Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Linda Noskova def. Sorana Cirstea
...2-6/6-3/7-6(11-9). The One That Almost Changed Everything.
Noskova reached her third career slam Round of 16 with this w, outlasting Romanian vet Sorana Cirstea in a back-and-forth tussle that nearly changed history.
The 3rd set seeing both women have opportunities slip through their fingers. Noskova led 4-2, only to see Cirstea win three straight games and hold a MP at 5-4. Next it was Noskova's turn, as she served up 6-5, 40/15 with a pair of MP of her own. The affair went to a MTB, where again they traded off shots and chances to win.
Noskova led 5-4, then Cirstea surged ahead at 7-5. But the 36-year old (playing in her final season, which is turning out to be her *career year*) couldn't push through to the finish, as Noskova ran off three straight to lead 8-7 before getting two more chances to put away the win. Finally, on her fourth MP, she won the breaker 11-9.
Four rounds later, Noskova was crowned the women's champion.
===============================================
7. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Petra Marcinko def. Antonia Ruzic
...7-6(6)/4-6/7-6(4). Lucky loser Marcinko wins the all-Croatian battle.
The recent first-time tour champion (in Rabat before RG) saved the opening set, taking a 4-1 lead but being forced to save three SP (two at 5-4, then another at 6-5 in the TB) before taking an 8-6 breaker. In the 3rd, Ruzic held four MP at 5-3, and a fifth at 6-5 before Marcinko and won yet another TB to advance.
Wimbledon Q2 - Fiona Crawley def. Julia Riera 6-2/3-6/7-6(10-1)
...Crawley's Q-run ultimately came up short, as she notched just two games vs. Alina Korneeva in the final round. Maybe it was because she expended so much energy just *getting* there.
After leading 7-5/4-1 vs. Sakatsume in the Q1, former NCAA #1 Crawley was forced to stage a comeback from 5-1 back in the 3rd set. She saved two MP at 5-3, and denied Sakatsume twice as she served for the match. Trailing 7-6 in the MTB, Crawley won four of the final five points to advance.
Against Riera, Crawley trailed 4-2 in the 3rd, but rallied to hold a MP at 5-4. The Argentine saved it and forced a deciding MTB, which Crawley dominated, going up 9-0 en route to a 10-1 win.
...what goes around comes around, as Sebov trailed 5-2 in the 3rd vs. NNA, saving a MP at 5-3, before sweeping the last five games. But with a Wimbledon MD spot on the line, the Canadian couldn't convert any of three MP at 6-5 in the 3rd vs. Shymanovich. Shymanovich then quickly went up 5-0 in the MTB, and won 10-5.
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*SHIPS PASSING IN THE DAY?*
The first Filipino to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam 🇵🇭
...7-6(9)/6-2. The Eala Escalation knob gets turned up one more notch.
The likes of being challenged by a player such as Eala was always the test that was going to tell the tale of Iga Swiatek's 2026 Wimbledon.
After (overly) celebrating her 1st Round win over Taylor Townsend in a contest that was only tough enough to be worrisome, then looking better against an opponent in the 2nd Round (Karolina Pliskova) who has a brow-beating history in their head-to-head (as in never getting a win, and once not even getting a game), when the 21-year old Filipina secured her chance to face off with the #3 seed and defending champion the match-up came equipped with a hungry opponent in good form and who has shown a natural ability on grass courts, as well as one who has gotten the best of Swiatek in the past (in their first meeting in Miami last year, before a three-set loss in Madrid a short time later), meaning that the mental game was likely already providing a checkmark in the column of Swiatek's *opponent* before either stepped on court.
In recent seasons, such a combination has rarely worked out well for Swiatek. And it didn't again, ending the Pole's almost year-long reign as Wimbledon champion.
For her part, Swiatek put up a fight in the 1st set, albeit one that saw her facing not just Eala but her own questioning self *and* a coach in Francisco Roig who wasn't about to sugar-coat his in-match analysis ("she's not beating you, you are losing!").
Eala had a BP in the first game of the match, but Swiatek got the hold, and even went up a break at 2-1 soon afterward. But the Pole gave the break back a game later, and saw Eala out-play her (now) error-prone attack by breaking to lead 5-3 and serving for the 1st set.
Eala pushed a down-the-line forehand just wide that would have given her a 40/15 lead, but she still held a SP that was denied by Swiatek, who ultimately got the break to stay alive. After Eala held a pair of GP at 5-5, Swiatek reached but failed to convert a BP, then missed on a volley that would have given her a second. Eala got the hold for 6-5, while Swiatek did the same (from 15/30) a game later.
Into a TB they went, with Eala again taking advantage of Swiatek's mounting mistakes, leading 5-2 before Swiatek ran off four straight points to suddenly reach SP with at 6-5 with a chance to virtually steal the lead in the match. A return error gave away that chance. After Eala caught a sideline to get another SP (also not converted), Swiatek had another SP of her own (a forehand error ended the renewed threat). Finally, on her fourth SP (third in the TB), Eala won 11-9 courtesy of a long Swiatek forehand.
With Swiatek reeling, the chances of another disheartening and stunning exiting set loss was on the table, and right one cue Eala ran out to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd as Swiatek's serve issues, unforced errors and clear psychological and emotional misgivings about *all* of it sent her down the other side of the hill she climbed (w/ a different, since fired, coach) just twelve months ago.
After dropping serve at 15 to fall behind 5-2, Swiatek managed one final surge as Eala tried to serve out another in a long line of historic results for the Philippines native.
In what was a long final game, Swiatek saved a pair of MP and held four BP, but could never keep her game aligned long enough to string together points to give herself a chance to possibly pull off a miracle turnaround. Finally, on her third MP, Eala completed the mission to get the victory, her second in three meetings (on three surfaces) vs. the former #1.
It was Eala's third Top 10 win this grass season, and makes her the first Filipino woman to reach the second week of a major.
While #1 Sabalenka didn't collapse in any sort of awkwardly memorable way as she has in recent outings, she surely didn't produce the level of play in this one that will anywhere near suit her own assessment of things. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the clean game of Osaka, who by this point looked absolutely unbothered by the surface beneath her feet, with her shots flowing on grass just as the bottom of her walk-on kimono attire had grazed across the blades of grass at the start of each of her matches over the first seven days of play at this Wimbledon.
Osaka took her initial lead with a break of Sabalenka's serve to lead 2-1 in the 1st. After saving a BP in the next game, she coasted to the finish. A double-break lead at 4-1, helped along by too many ill-timed Sabalenka errors, ultimately led to a 1st set win.
In the 2nd, both women minded their own serve. Sabalenka saved a pair of BP at 2-2, but they were the only faced by either woman in the set. For her part, Osaka only saw Sabalenka get to 30 once in any of her six service games as the set headed to a tie-break.
Once there, Sabalenka's usual mastery of the format never showed up. Osaka jumped out to a 4-1 lead by taking back-to-back points on Sabalenka's serve, and never looked back en route to a 7-2 win that ended Sabalenka's Open era record of 21 consecutive tie-breaks won in grand slam play and brought to an end the Belarusian's streak of fourteen straight QF+ finishes in majors.
Osaka took the straight sets victory to reach her first Wimbledon QF, notching her third career #1 win (first since 2019) and first Top 10 victory on any surface other than hard court. Of her now sixteen career Top 10 wins, this is just Osaka's fourth collected this decade.
Naomi Osaka defeats the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to advance to the quarterfinals‼ pic.twitter.com/jsqaxvgheP
Osaka's QF is her first in slam play outside of the AO/US hard court majors. In four of her five QF runs in those events, save for last year's U.S. SF, she went on to win the title, but that didn't happen here. Instead, Osaka just as suddenly lost her momentum against Karolina Muchova in a 7-6/6-4 defeat.
1. Berlin QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Nikola Bartunkova
...2-6/7-6(2)/6-4. The art of averting oblivion (delayed).
One wonders how Sabalenka might have reacted if she'd followed up her epic collapse in the RG semis with a run-over loss vs. Bartunkova in just her second grass match of the season. What *did* happen, though, was Sabalenka finding her way through the weeds and erasing a 6-2/4-0 deficit in which she twice deflected the Czech's attempt to serve out the match, winning a TB to force a 3rd.
Yeah, *that* wasn't easy, either. Sabalenka twice lost a break lead until finally going up 5-4, then missing on a pair of MP chances (one with a bad backhand error on a sitter shot off the net cord) before the third proved to be the charm.
2. Queen's Club 2nd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Tatjana Maria
...6-7(4)/7-5/6-0. Hmmm, maybe if the 38-year old Maria hadn't had to play two additional matches just to get into the MD, this one might have had a different conclusion. The German, a year after upsetting Rybakina in this same event en route to the title, claimed the 1st set in a TB after having not been able to close it out at 5-3 earlier in the set.
She led 5-4 in the 2nd, as well, up love/30 on the Kazakh's serve in game 10, but then never won another game down the long stretch. She was a point from forcing another TB at 5-6, but no. Losing her ranking points from her '25 title run, Maria fell all the way out of the Top 100 on the following Monday. Though, even with that, she still ranked ahead of half of the Brits who were placed into the MD rather than her via wild cards doled out by the LTA.
Top seed Elena Rybakina ends Tatjana Maria's 10-match winning streak at the Queen's Club and defeats the defending champ 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-0 to reach the QFs vs. Boulter later today .
Barely lost points since being 4-5 *0-30 down in the 2nd set.
In 2025, Maria had won the first women's tournament held at Queen's Club since 1973, and this year found herself ranked at #52 (not #300+ or something) and just one spot out of automatically earning a MD slot. Still, being the DC, and just a sliver away from it not being an issue, wasn't enough for the German to be handed a wild card by the LTA, which gave all four to British players (some as a form of "reward" for playing BJK Cup for GBR). Maria had to go through qualifying to have the chance to be the first woman to defend this title in 55 years, and won her 1st Round match to have the chance at a rematch with Rybakina (who was playing her first match of the week, not her fourth).
Even more insulting, comments from the like of BJK Cup Captain Anne Keothavong insinuated that Maria *expecting* a wild card as the defending champion (of an event that didn't exist for half a century, mind you) was an "entitled" notion on her part.
Tatjana Maria last year's 'Queen of Queen's' on being denied a wild card to defend her title: "to come back like a champion I really hoped or I thought I would get a wildcard....I was surprised of course when I got the message from Laura Robson saying that all the wildcards will… pic.twitter.com/e9nwWHTDoE
— Tennis Weekly Podcast (@tennisweeklypod) June 8, 2026
Her ranking is 52. She was one place away from direct acceptance. She played qualifying and won two matches in a day to make the main draw.
— Tennis Weekly Podcast (@tennisweeklypod) June 9, 2026
Truthfully, the WTA should make it a rule that any defending champion, should they desire to return, gets an automatic exemption for a MD berth in the event in their ranking, for some reason, might not have already secured it. But, you know, *the WTA*.
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3. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Ashlyn Krueger def. Donna Vekic
...3-6/7-6(3)/6-4. A few weeks after Vekic won the Queen's Club title as a lucky loser, qualifier Krueger's resurgent grass season (16-2) found its biggest win with a come from behind upset of the #31 seed.
Vekic led 6-3/4-1 (w/ a GP for 5-1), then 5-3. She twice served for the win at 5-4 and 6-5, but Krueger forced a won a 7-3 TB and went up 4-2 in the 3rd en route to victory.
Her qualifying run and 1st Round win at SW19 gave Krueger her nine straight wins, and she ran the streak to eleven matches and her maiden slam Round of 16 (a 4 & 4 loss to Marta Kostyuk).
Ashlyn Krueger completes the comeback against Queens champion Donna Vekic. After winning the 2nd set tiebreak, she broke early in the third and never lost her break advantage despite Vekic threatening to break back. Such a gritty win for Ashlyn #Wimbledonhttps://t.co/4iuN3jFCb6pic.twitter.com/L9E9vaWzoo
4. Wimbledon 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Solana Sierra
...6-3/3-6/7-6(10-7). No top player wins more matches without her "A"-game making the machine run smoothly than Gauff, and she once again had to call upon that renowned ability to fight her way past Sierra.
The 1st of July holds significance at Wimbledon for Gauff, as it was on that day in 2019 that she made her slam debut at 15-year old, defeating none other than Venus Williams on Centre Court to mark the occasion on her way to the Round of 16. Last year, also on July 1st, then #2-seeded Gauff was upset in by Dayana Yastremska in the 1st Round just weeks after having won Roland Garros.
This year, Gauff battled Sierra a year after the Argentine had reached the 4th Round at the AELTC as a lucky loser. Sierra saved a pair of MP in her 1st Round win over Anna Bondar, but in this one it was *she* who had her opponent on the ropes.
Sierra broke Gauff to take a 4-3 lead in the 3rd set, and held for 5-3. In game 9, Sierra fired a rocket of a return for a winner to get within two points of the win at 30/30 on Gauff's serve. Gauff managed the hold, then saw Sierra fumble away her opportunity to serve out the match, throwing in a double-fault, wild forehand error and flubbed drop shot attempt to essentially break herself and level the set at 5-5.
In the deciding MTB, Sierra led the majority of the way, but Gauff would not let her get *too* far ahead. She consistently rebounded to edge within a point on the scoreboard, at 4-3, 5-4 and 7-6 (after having fallen behind 7-4 in Sierra's best stretch in the breaker). Finally, at 7-7, Gauff flicked a winner from the baseline on a ball that was bouncing behind and away from her to take an 8-7 lead.
Serving two for the match, Gauff rushed over the finish line, winning both points, the last with an ace, to take the match after winning the final six points of the MTB.
ICE COLD COCO 🥶
Down 4-7 in the match tie-break, Gauff won the next six points to secure a remarkable victory on No.1 Court #Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/PytYPgNx6C
5. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Robin Montgomery
...0-6/6-4/7-5. #13-seeded Paolini, a surprise Wimbledon finalist in '24, sent the Rosmalen champion packing, corrupting Montgomery's previously spotless (9-0) '26 grass season with a comeback victory over the Bannerette qualifier.
After dropping the 1st set at love, the Italian rode an early break to a 2nd set win, then rallied from 4-2 down in the decider, holding in game 7 at love and then breaking Montgomery to turn the tables. Paolini saved three BP at 4-4, and after Montgomery denied a MP in game 10, two games later broke serve at love to win and avoid a MTB.
Arriving at SW19 holding onto her '26 season by a thread (just like this match) due to injury and inconsistency, Paolini climbed above .500 on the year with this win, ultimately reaching the QF with her best singles result since October.
6. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Emma Navarro def. Paula Badosa
...4-6/6-3/7-5. Navarro, a finalist this year in Nottingham and semifinalist in Bad Homburg (where she defeated Iga Swiatek), arrived having put together a 12-4 mark since recently fully returning to action after a health-related break. She'd started 5-11 on the year (including 2-9 in a stretch), finally forcing her own hand and making the decision to take some time off in March. She returned in May after getting things sorted, winning a title in Strasbourg in her third tournament back.
Still, playing her way back into shape, Navarro has at times looked special, but sometimes suddenly instantly beatable. Here she played both sides of the equation and came out on top vs. Badosa.
The Spaniard took the opening set, and led 5-2 in the 3rd, serving at 5-3. But Navarro seized upon Badosa's final dip in play, breaking her in her final two service games to take a 6-5 lead, then saving a pair of BP on her own serve in game 12 to avoid a deciding MTB. She converted on her fourth MP chance in the game.
Navarro d. Paula Badosa 4-6 6-3 7-5 at Wimbledon
Down 2-5 in the 3rd set.
Paula served for the match.
Enormous fight from Emma to survive a very tough opening round.
A former Wimbledon quarterfinalist who’s playing some sharp grass court tennis.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 30, 2026
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7. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Solana Sierra def. Anna Bondar
...6-3/5-7/7-5. Sierra is no stranger to pulling victory from the jaws of defeat (even *actual* defeat) at the All-England Club, having last year reached the 4th Round as a lucky loser. Her she saved double MP at 5-4, 40/15 in the decider vs. Bondar, then in game 11 saved a BP to hold for 6-5, *then* came back from 15/40 again to break to Hungarian to end the match.
Her elation didn't last long, though, as a round later she failed to serve out an even *bigger* win vs. Coco Gauff in the 2nd Round.
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8. Nottingham 1st Rd. - Talia Gibson def. Francesca Jones
...6-3/5-7/7-6(4). Gibson was flying high with a 21-4 stretch earlier this season, but came into Nottingham having gone 3-10 in her last thirteen (with four straight losses). Ending the slide was no easy feat.
The Aussie battled Jones for three hours (the Brit, per usual, had an MTO break during the proceedings), losing her match lead after the 1st and having to rally from 5-2 down in the 3rd, saving a pair of MP at 5-3, before getting the saving break of serve on her fourth BP chance. In the deciding TB, Gibson dug out of an early 3-1 hole to win 7-4 and re-set her course (for now).
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9. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Dayana Yastremska def. Aoi Ito
...7-6(1)/4-6/7-5. Yastremska rallied from 3-1 down to take the 1st set from Aoi Ito, who served for the set at 6-5. Then in the 3rd, Ito held a pair of MP on serve at 5-3, then two more on return a game later.
Yastremska staved off them all to end her four-match losing streak in grand slam play (a stretch that began after she'd reached at least the 3rd Round at six of seven majors, starting with a SF at AO24).
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Pushed to the limits!
Anastasia Zakharova saves 3 match points to beat the talented youngster Lilli Tagger 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 in a very tough first qualifying round match at the Eastbourne Open.
Nothing could separate them until the last point, a thrilling end to the match! pic.twitter.com/1xSs2rUrEl
...Zakharova pulled out all the stops to reach the MD, saving MP in both of her qualifying matches, winning a pair of 3rd set TB to get there.
The Hordette saved three MP in the deciding TB vs. Tagger, then rallied from 3-0 down in the 3rd against Selekmeteva, denying the Spaniard when she served at 6-5 and then saving a MP in the tie-break.
Zakharova won a third straight three-setter in the 1st Round, but lost in her next match to "slice queen" Tatjana Maria.
Another final-set tiebreak win for Anastasia Zakharova!
She beats doubles partner Oksana Selekhmeteva 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 after saving a match point to qualify for the main draw at the Eastbourne Open.
...2-6/6-1/7-6(12-10). Gasanova's eventually successful qualifying attempt almost didn't get past the first obstacle. Lepchenko led 5-3 in the 3rd set in the opening round, twice serving for the match at 5-4 and 6-5. In the concluding MTB, the Bannerette led 5-1, and at 9-6 held four MP over a five-point stretch before Gasanova swept the final three points of the match to win 12-10.
Two wins later, she was in her first major MD in four years, getting her maiden slam MD win over Emiliana Arango in the 1st Round.
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12. Wimbledon Q2 - Mananchaya Sawangkaew def. Mary Stoiana 2-6/6-4/7-5
...Sawangkaew does it the hard way, rallying from 3-1 down in the decider vs. Stoiana, then saving three MP vs. Dodin in the 2nd set (two at 5-3, another at 5-4) to reach the Wimbledon MD.
Of course, that was nothing compared to what would happen in the 1st Round.
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*WHAT A DIFFERANCE A SLAM MATCH POINT CAN MAKE*
Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Mananchaya Sawangkaew def. Maja Chwalinska
...2-6/7-5/6-2. The smaller they are, the harder they (slip and) fall?
Maja Chwalinska was one point away from reaching the second round when a slip & fall turned her match around. pic.twitter.com/dcnESg0lwX
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 29, 2026
Sometimes a scoreline only tells a small part of the story.
#20 Chwalinska, the surprise RG finalist who was at the center of a discussion about whether she'd be granted a wild card into the Wimbledon MD after her big ranking rise had occurred after the tournament's automatic-entry cutoff date (she *was* ultimately given a free pass, as well as an appropriate-to-her-ranking seed), but ended up becoming the First Seed Out... but only after dominating qualifier Sawangkaew, leading 6-2/5-2, with a MP at 40/30. This this happened...
This happened for Chwalinska on 6-2, 5-2 (40-30) on MP. Now down 5-6. She was the better player for the entire, there was nothing Sawangkaew could do to win this on her own terms. Should take the grass into her prayers today if she gets the comeback. Insane luck. pic.twitter.com/7IGDoCq36e
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 29, 2026
Playing on despite having little ability to move around the court, Chwalinska dropped eleven of the final thirteen games as her Thai opponent went on to notch her maiden slam MD win in her second appearance in a major.
Eek.
1. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Daria Snigur def. Elina Svitolina
...7-5/6-2. In the midst of a tremendous season, Svitolina has climbed back into the Top 10, winning two titles (including the Rome 1000, her biggest since 2018) and reaching a SF (AO) and QF (RG) in majors. Her six SF and nine QF both lead the tour, while her seven Top 10 wins are tied (for now) for the most this year.
But she withdrew from her Bad Homburg QF prior to Wimbledon, and one wonders if whatever impacted that decision lingered into London, as after getting off to a great start (up 4-0, 30/love vs. fellow Ukrainian Snigur) she was quickly shown the exit, falling in straights sets while losing thirteen of the last sixteen games.
Snigur d. Elina Svitolina 7-5 6-2 at Wimbledon
From 0-4 down in the 1st set
Daria gets her 1st top 10 win since 2023
Truly unbelievable level… she was hitting so flat, so accurately, so relentlessly
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 30, 2026
Of course, big upsets aren't a new experience for the 24-year old Snigur. She's notched two Top 10 wins in majors (w/ Simona Halep at the '22 U.S. Open, after which everything went to hell for what remained of the Romanian's career), and is 3-1 vs. Top 10 opponents in her career. She won her bigget career title at a 125 event in February, finally cracked the Top 100 in March, and should now emerge from this Wimbledon at a new career high (likely inside the Top 75, at least).
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2. Queen's Club QF - Katie Boulter def. Elena Rybakina
...7-5/2-6/6-4. In an event where the defending champion was denied a wild card in favor of a group of locals, Boulter (a two-time Nottingham champ) was the one British player given a free pass into the MD who had an equal case to make vs. DC Tatjana Maria, and she showed it against world #2 Rybakina, recording the biggest win of her career.
After barely getting by Leylah Fernandez in the 1st Round (winning a 7-5 3rd), Boulter followed a victory over Jaqueline Cristian with her first Top 10 win of the season over Rybakina. It's the fifth of her career, four of which have come on grass (her lone hard court win came in a team event, at the '24 United Cup).
Wow.
Boulter defeats Rybakina for one of her best ever wins!
She will face Vekic tomorrow, what a chance for both to reach the final.
Raducanu or Rakhimova vs. Jovic in the other semifinal.
...7-5/6-4. Rybakina continues to post results more than a bit below what is expected of the world #2, as Eala avenges her loss to the Kazakh in the 3rd Round in Rome in the spring.
Eala trailed 4-1 in the 1st, then won 12 of the last 17 games vs. the '22 Wimbledon champ.
It's Eala's second win over a player ranked #2 (Iga, Miami '25). She'd add another Top 10 win (over Svitolina) a round later, then another over defending champ Swiatek at Wimbledon. Her three Top 10 wins this grass swing led the tour
4. Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Elise Mertens def. Elena Rybakina
...7-6(4)/6-1. While '25 champion Iga Swiatek's loss garnered the most headlines on Day 6 (which also saw '25 finalist Amanda Anisimova lose), the exit on that same Saturday of #2-seeded Rybakina likely had much more impact on the future course of this Wimbledon. Although, the Kazakh didn't exactly arrive in London having showed a great deal of promise when it came to a deep run, either.
Still, the thought of Rybakina finding her game -- largely missing since early spring -- on the grass courts of the All-England Club wasn't *that* big of a stretch to consider. After a very shaky 1st Round, she'd seemingly found a groove in the 2nd. But here she was back to her error-prone ways, very unlike the Rybakina who ended 2025 in a full on-court sprint, and then started '26 by winning the Australian Open.
Though she managed to eek out a title run in Stuttgart despite some uneven play early in the clay season, Rybakina hadn't really been the same since her pair of losses to Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells and Miami in March when she had the chance to take the season by the hair and drag it into the spring/summer, only to see her presumed #1 rival put together maybe the biggest two-event run of her career with a Sunshine Double triumph.
Against #25 Mertens, against whome Rybakina held a 7-1 head-to-head edge (and who'd never beaten a Top 2 player in her career nor taken out a Top 10 player on grass despite the 30-year old having had a long, successful WTA career), the 2022 Wimbledon champion went down, and fairly hard on her way out, too.
Of course, after Rybakina dropped a 6-1 set in the 1st Round to clay courter Lois Boisson earlier in the week, I suppose it was also pretty easy to see this loss coming. It's Rybakina's second straight 3rd Round exit at Wimbledon, courtesy of a 12 winner/31 UE day.
5. Berlin 1st Rd. - Nikola Bartunkova def. Diana Shnaider
...6-2/6-7(2)/6-3. Bartunkova had already shown an ability to take down big names in big events, and here did it on a *third* surface in '26 (after Bencic on hard court at the AO, and Keys on clay in Rome), knocking off Shnaider in the Hordette's first outing since her semifinal run at Roland Garros.
Shnaider led 3-0 in the 2nd, but saved a pair of Bartunkova MP at 5-4 when the Czech served for the win. Shnaider then staged a comeback from 0-2 in the TB with seven straight points to force a 3rd set.
Shnaider led the decider 3-0 before Bartunkova swept the final six games.
...6-1/3-6/7-5. The Wimbledon qualifying entry in this year's "Unfamiliar Brits Putting Up Unexpected Results" contest. In this case, it was #514 Adeshina upsetting Uchijima after having trailed 4-2 in the 3rd set. Uchijima served for the win at 5-4.
When dreams become reality 🤩 🇬🇧
Esther Adeshina notched the biggest win of her career in Qualifying, defeating No.8 seed Moyuka Uchijima pic.twitter.com/OChMZcdmBZ
Does defeating a 44-year old who hadn't played a singles match in nearly four years count as an "upset?" If the player in question is Serena Williams, yes... yes it can.
7. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Maya Joint def. Serena Williams
...6-3/6-7(6)/6-3. On Day 2 at the All-England Club, all eye were on the return of 44-year old Williams in her first singles match since losing to Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 U.S. Open.
As it turned out, it was another Aussie, 20-year old Joint, waiting for her on Centre Court.
Considering Joint's woeful season to date, though she *had* played a three-setter and a close two-setter this grass season (she lost them both, but still), it was easy to see Williams as the "favorite." Joint stood at 3-15 on the year, 1-13 in her last fourteen, and 0-11 in her last eleven tour-level outings.
But, good on ya, Maya. The kid actually came out and played her best match of the season when the most people were watching, holding off a clearly-rusty and not really *fully* match-ready, but still super-dangerous, Williams in three-set victory that proved that, no, a 44-year old -- even if she might the best player ever -- can't just walk in off the street and beat anyone, even a player who has lost to almost everyone she's faced this season.
Joint held up well all match, denying Williams' multiple BP chances as she claimed the opening set at 6-3. Williams picked up steam in the 2nd, overcoming a 3-1 deficit. After Williams converted her first BP (on try #6), having been set up by a vintage low forehand passing shot, to knot the score 3-3, Joint immediately broke back. They traded off three straight breaks to get to 4-4, and Williams held from love/40 to go up 6-5. Joint forced a TB, where she rallied 5-4 down to hold a MP at 6-5. But Williams pushed back, taking the breaker 8-6 and sending things to a 3rd.
Williams got the early break to lead 2-1, but it wasn't meant to be. Not this time. Not yet, anyway. Joint didn't let negativity, or her lost chance in the 2nd, take her down. She broke back, and after taking break lead at 4-2 never let (a likely tiring and, as it turned out, injured) Williams turn the tide back..
Maya Joint claims her maiden main draw win at The Championships with a brilliant performance against Serena Williams#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/7THWx6vhzh
Williams' eleventh-hour decision to play singles at this Wimbledon, while providing a highlight solo moment, wreaked havoc on what remained of what was *supposed* to be the heralded return of her and her sister Venus to the doubles competition. Williams' tweaked knee in singles caused her to ultimately withdraw from doubles, limiting 46-year old Venus to a brief appearance in the 1st Round of Mixed Doubles at this year's Wimbledon, an event at which she hadn't appeared in three years.
WOW Sofia Johnson 🇬🇧 who won her first W15 event earlier in the year has just defeated WTA 51st Oliynykova 🇺🇦 6-0 6-2 in 53 mins to reach final qualifying at WTA Eastbourne ❤️ pic.twitter.com/hXK1dQzQHu
Eastbourne Q1 - Sofia Johnson def. Oleksandra Oliynykova
...6-0/6-2. After her loss to #587 Johnson, Oliynykova refused to acknowledge or allow her feet to touch the grass.
(Not really.)
Oliynykova went winless over the five-plus weeks after she compared her Roland Garros opponent to a Nazi, losing four straight (0-2 on clay, 0-2 on grass). The Tennis Gods know the score.
(Really.)
