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Tuesday, July 14, 2026

2026 Grass Court Awards: Top of the Class


A(nother) Czech crushes it...










Of grass stains and higher planes...




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)



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*RE-INTRODUCING VENUS EBONY STARR WILLIAMS*







*WHEN TROPHIES HAVE A PERSONALITY*







*FASHION SHOW*







*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...









*HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE THE NATIONAL GALLERY*







*FASHION SHOW, Pt.2*







*QUARTERLY COCO-IN-ACTION APPRECIATION*








*BACKSLIDE, or a .001% IMPROVEMENT?*


On the bright side, a few months ago, Mirra might have also cursed out the Players Box an/or yelled at the crowd on her way out...






*FASHION SHOW, Pt.3*







*ALL HAIL "THE QUEEN OF THE BEES": GRASS COURT EDITION*


Meanwhile, another entry in the "Queen of the Bees '26" nomination fight...




Elsewhere...







*QUARTERLY KAROLINA MUCHOVA APPRECIATION CORNER*






*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.






*TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE*







*MEANWHILE, THE WTA SOCIAL MEDIA WAS POSTING SERENA TRIBUTES WITH, UMM, A VAGUELY SATANIC FEEL?*







*GRINNER BUYS DINNER*







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*WHEN THE EYES ARE *NOT* BIGGER THAN THE STOMACH*









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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.



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).



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.
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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).



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.



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.



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.


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4. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Tereza Valentova def. Hannah Klugman
...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.
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5. Wimbledon 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Mirra Andreeva
...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.



Always with a "Jana on her shoulder" at this event, Krejcikova once more acknowledged her former coach/mentor with a post-match kiss to the sky.


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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.
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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.
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8. Wimbledon Q1 - Fiona Crawley def. Himeno Sakatsume 7-5/4-6/7-6(10-8)
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.
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HM- Wimbledon Q2 - Katherine Sebov def. Noma Noha Akugue 6-4/5-7/7-5
Wimbledon Q3 - Iryna Shymanovich def. Katherine Sebov 4-6/6-3/7-6(10-5)
...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?*



Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Alex Eala def. Iga Swiatek
...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.





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*LAND AHOY!*



Wimbledon 4th Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-2/7-6(2). Into the second week of Wimbledon, Osaka continued to play a pretty fine game of tennis on the grass.



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.



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.





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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.
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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.



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.



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).


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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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10. Eastbourne Q1 - Anastasia Zakharova def. Lilli Tagger 6-4/5-7/7-6(7)
Eastbourne Q2 - Anastasia Zakharova def. Oksana Selekhmeteva 7-6(8)/2-6/7-6(7)
...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.


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11. Wimbledon Q1 - Anastasia Gasanova def. Varvara Lepchenko
...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
Wimbledon Q3 - Mananchaya Sawangkaew def. Oceane Dodin 5-7/7-5/6-1
...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?



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...



From that point on, Chwalinska's 2026 Wimbledon slowly but inevitably wilted away and died.



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.








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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.



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).


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3. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Alex Eala def. Elena Rybakina
...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


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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.


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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.



Bartunkova followed up with a win a round later over Elise Mertens, who'd soon after upset Elena Rybakina en route to the QF at Wimbledon.
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6. Wimbledon Q1 - Esther Adeshina def. Moyuka Uchijima
...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.


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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..





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.


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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.)
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