The women’s tournament at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships saw a number of surprising results.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out in the fourth round by Naomi Osaka, falling in straight sets to the Japanese star.
Former Wimbledon champion and second seed Elena Rybakina‘s run ended in round three, with the Kazakh losing to Elise Mertens.
Coco Gauff, who had never made it past the fourth round in SW19 before this year’s edition, reached the semifinals of the event and was a match point away from advancing to the final.
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But perhaps the biggest shock was the short-lived title defence of Iga Swiatek, who crashed out in the third round when beaten by Alex Eala.
Boris Becker’s verdict on Iga Swiatek after Wimbledon defeat
Speaking on his podcast, ‘Becker Petkovic‘, tennis legend Boris Becker gave a brutally honest verdict of Swiatek.
The German said: “I’m thinking about who disappointed [at Wimbledon]; if we’re saying who should have actually gone further, among the women, I would say Iga Swiatek, because I’ve seen her play significantly better.
“She needs to figure out where she stands now. As a Wimbledon winner and a former world No 1, it’s just not good enough anymore. Something needs to change there.
“I don’t know her in detail. She always has new coaches by her side, new styles of play, and her psychologist is still with her… It’s good to pull the plug and really think everything over.
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“She is a young woman, only in the middle of her career — far from over — but something needs to change dramatically for her to get back on her winning track.
“That’s my opinion, because women’s tennis hasn’t changed that much since she was winning big tournaments. So, something isn’t right there at the moment.”
Iga Swiatek’s 2026 grass swing on the WTA Tour
Swiatek played at just one grass-court tune-up event heading into Wimbledon, appearing at the Bad Homburg Open.
There, she fell in her opening matchup, losing to American star Emma Navarro in three sets.
Swiatek narrowly came through her first-round match at Wimbledon with Taylor Townsend, with the American testing the defending champion.
After conceding the opener 6-1, Townsend took the second set convincingly 6-2, but could not get over the line in the end.
Swiatek won her second match against Karolina Pliskova, but then suffered a tough loss to Eala, recording her worst finish at a major in two years.
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