Introduction: A refresher on Wimbledon
With the next Wimbledon Championship on the horizon, fans have a lot to look forward to. Whether you’re interested in the returning champs, or hoping to place your bets on some of the newer faces, the new page in the book of Wimbledon history is sure to be an exciting one.
In this article, we’ll take a look at which players tennis fans should be keeping their eyes on and aiming to provide an insight into what to expect from the later chapter of the Wimbledon Championship, including both the men’s and the women’s singles, while also taking a brief look at what we can expect from this year's doubles.
So get your rackets ready, we’re serving you with all the information you need to enjoy the upcoming Championship to the fullest!
Wimbledon Men’s Singles 2024
The Men’s singles is shaping up to be an extremely exciting spectacle, with the return of household names, such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, but also rising prodigies like last year's winner, Carlos Alcaraz.
Let’s start by taking a look at the favourites to win. Whether they do end up taking home the title or not, the following players will certainly leave behind an exceptional story that will be worth the watch for viewers at home.
Carlos Alcaraz
Listed by many betting outlets and enthusiasts as the number one favourite, the young champion Carlos Alcaraz is expected to perform even better thanks to the rigorous training routine he follows and the expected upwards trend in his already phenomenal ability due to him being early in his career as a professional tennis player.
Chances are, things are only going to get better for Alcaraz as time goes on, but this upcoming Wimbledon could be an opportunity to see him play in his best form yet. If what we’ve seen so far from Alcaraz is anything to go off, this year's Wimbledon games are going to be electrifying.
Novak Djokovic
Prior to his defeat last year at the hands of Alcaraz himself, Djokovic was the reigning king of Wimbledon, but just because he didn’t win the previous competition, doesn’t mean he has lost his touch by any means.
He retains an almost superhuman stamina and speed at the age of 36 and will be supercharged with passion and motivation, since a win this year would catch him up to the all-time record of his famous rival, Roger Federer.
The bookies know this too, and the odds on most prolific betting websites reflect this. Experts and avid enjoyers of tennis more or less expect to see a showdown between Alcaraz and Djokovic in the finals this year.
Jannik Sinner
Of course, anyone could tell you the most obvious favourites, but many people have their eyes on another young prodigy in the sport. Jannik Sinner has displayed incredible rallying prowess in singles; in fact, he’s ranked second in the world by the ATP (Association of Tennis Players).
While Sinner isn’t the number one favourite, he should not be counted out by any means. It certainly would be exciting to see a showdown between the two relatively young tennis prodigies as Sinner puts his skills on the line to try and make Italy proud.
Wimbledon Women's Singles 2024
The women’s game is hosting some equally exciting players, who we can’t wait to see in action. Famous names like Naomi Osaka and Karolína Muchová are returning to test their mettle in the biggest women's championship that tennis has to offer.
What makes things even more interesting is the different format in the women's game, which features faster paced best of 3s that make for a unique viewing experience. Let’s take a look at the players we expect to see performing well in this year's Wimbledon.
Aryna Sabalenka
Whilst she has yet to win Wimbledon, Aryna Sabalenka is the favourite of many and it’s easy to see why. She has precision, power and stamina which is a cut above most other players. Sabalenka has been rising through the ranks of elite women’s tennis, and now she has the chance to prove that she has what it takes to win it all.
Enthusiasts have been paying close attention to her training, noting that her serve and return have greatly improved, which is bound to pair well with her formidable power. All of this improvement comes after she has already reached the status of rank 1 women’s singles player with the ATP.
Iga Świątek
Aryna is impressive, but Iga Świątek is the current holder of the title of number 1 ATP singles player. While she hasn’t been successful in her previous Wimbledon attempts, she is shaping up to be a serious contender.
The only thing going against her is the surface upon which Wimbledon is played. Świątek hasn’t had the best track record on grass, however with the right practice and dedication, she might just overcome this and take home the title.
Ons Jabeur
Having made the finals of two previous championships, Jabeur isn’t the number one favourite in the women’s singles, but she might actually have what it takes to deliver a victory, thanks to her competitive tenacity on the grass.
If she manages to find her optimal form before the tournament starts, Jabeur is certainly a player that warrants viewer’s close attention.
Coco Gauff
The current 3rd ranked female player in the world at the impressively young age of 20 is certainly someone to keep our eyes on. At the moment, she isn’t expected to win the whole thing, but we’d be remiss to say she isn’t capable, because it's a real possibility.
Regardless of whether she is able to deliver that upset victory, her rapidly improving style is captivating to watch and she’s already taken down the favourite at the US open last year. Pay attention to this rising star!
Doubles Players to Look out for
While most of the public eye is focused on the men and women's singles titles respectively, doubles tennis is back again at Wimbledon this year and it’s a thrilling sport to watch.
Perhaps even more interestingly, the pairings we saw in last year’s doubles championship are not going to be the same this year around, which makes things even less predictable than singles tennis.
Everything depends on synergy and communication between the two teammates, which means that even a difference in power and finesse might be offset by the superior co-ordination of another team.
Let’s take a look at the pairings in both the men’s and women’s game that we expect to do the best.
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos
The current rank 1 team of Granollers and Zeballos have an incredible synergy and seemingly unstoppable momentum. The pair is approaching Wimbledon off the back of their victory where they claimed the Rome doubles title, besting Bublik and Shelton, who at the time were fan favourites.
These two players show that in the doubles game, experience is a real difference maker. The pair are 38 and 39 years of age respectively at the time of writing this article, which is in sporting terms, not the youngest.
The experience they have gained throughout their careers and from playing side by side has transformed any match featuring the two of them into a spectacle that gives spectators their money’s worth every single time.
Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens
In the women's doubles, the names of Su-wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens come to mind. These two players have been dominating the women's doubles together and occupy the rank 1 and 2 spots, unlike the male pair we mentioned, which are joint 1st.
This is because the duo did not in fact play together in last year's Wimbledon, where Hsieh won with a different partner Strycova. Playing with a different duo naturally staggers their competitive ratings.
The current pair has won Wimbledon before though, so they have the synergy and teamwork needed to pull off a big win again this year.
If you’ve been paying attention to their games recently, then you’ll already know that the pair have a breakneck pace and both a high quality serving and returning game. If not, now is as good a time as any to start following their journey in the lead up to the big international tournament.
Afterword
Thanks for reading our article about this year’s upcoming Wimbledon. If you want to learn more about Wimbledon's history, relevant tennis news, or a plethora of different subjects, make sure to check out the rest of the Superprof blog, we’re sure something will interest you.
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Anyways, it’s goodbye for now from the Superprof team, we hope to see you again soon!
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