Elena Rybakina is the odds-on favorite to win her second Wimbledon title.
It has always felt slightly daft trying to predict the winner of Wimbledon, especially on the women’s side with this year proving no exception.
Last year’s champion Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman to win the singles at Wimbledon in 2023, yet was stunned in the opening round by Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro who sits 77 places below the world number six in the WTA rankings.
Elena Rybakina has looked truly unflappable so far and appears to have rediscovered her form from 2022 where she clinched her first and only major title of her career so far.
With early frontrunners such as Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek all suffering premature exits, the onus is on the Kazakh to seize this golden opportunity.
Who does Pat Cash think this year’s ‘dark horse’ for the Wimbledon title is?
Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova, and Donna Vekic are the three players who join Rybakina in the last four, with Paolini the in-form player having made the final in both the singles and doubles at Roland Garros in June.
During Wednesday’s official BBC coverage of Wimbledon, the 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash claimed the Czech star was the one to watch.
He said: “Krejcikova for me is a dark horse for this Wimbledon title. She is a grand slam champion and has won singles and doubles at the French Open.
“She has a perfect grass court game when you think about it: She has a big serve, great volleys, really good touch, slice backhand, good forehand. She has everything,” Cash explained.
“She has had some up and down moments in her career with injuries but she has everything to win this title. But I think she will be looking at this draw thinking you know what. She could do the back to back. She could do the singles and the doubles like she did at the French Open.”
Could Barbora Krejcikova win Wimbledon?
The world number 32 has gone about her business at Wimbledon in the composed, inconspicuous style that mirrors much of her game.
The singles and doubles specialist enjoyed a successful French Open campaign in 2021, picking up both titles, but has not since managed to replicate such glory.
The crafty Czech has a superb all-round game without anything being truly spectacular, yet her neat slice and smart hands at the net operate uniquely effectively on grass
A gutsy display against fellow former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko saw Krejcikova serve exceptionally well and manage to prise out a number of errors from her opponent, with the commentary booth claiming ‘Barbora is back’.
Either Paolini, who steamrolled past American star Emma Navarro in the quarter-final, or Donna Vekic who eventually broke down qualifier Lulu Sun, will await in the final, both of whom are yet to win a major.
With this year’s championships Rybakina’s to lose, the Czech will have little pressure going into their semi-final clash on Thursday.
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