Wimbledon women’s favourite named by former British No 1 as Coco Gauff barrier revealed
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff contested the most recent Grand Slam final and Laura Robson has assessed their chances of winning the Wimbledon title.
The top two players in the WTA Rankings faced off in the French Open final and it was the No 2 ranked Gauff who came from a set down to beat top seed Sabalenka in what was a repeat of the 2023 US Open, which was also won by the American.
The pair were the standout players during the clay-court season with Sabalenka winning the Madrid Open while Gauff finished runner-up at the Spanish WTA 1000 event as well as the Italian Open.
But the attention has already switched to grass with warm-up events underway before the third major of the year, Wimbledon, gets underway on June 30.
Although she feels the tournament will be “quite open”, Robson says three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka has the slight edge due to her history at SW19.
The Belarusian has made six appearances at Wimbledon and reached the semi-final in 2021 and 2023 while she missed the event in 2022 and 2024.
Gauff, meanwhile, made her debut as a 15-year-old in 2019 when she became the youngest qualifier to reach the main draw. That year she beat Venus Williams en route to the fourth round.
The American has made three last-16 appearances, including last year when she was upset by Emma Navarro in straight sets.
“I don’t know who is favourite in the women’s Wimbledon event. I would probably say Sabalenka because she’s done well there in the past but for Coco it’s been a surface which hasn’t quite given her the results that the other Slams have,” Robson told Sky Sports Tennis.
“Even though Gauff has made the fourth round three times, there’s not been that standout result, I’d say, so I think that leaves it quite open for some new faces to come in.”
WTA News
Coco Gauff reveals Serena Williams inspiration after emulating icon’s French Open win
The ranking points Sabalenka, Gauff, Swiatek, Raducanu and top WTA stars are defending on grass
Robson, who is the tournament director at this weeks’ HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club, also believes Madison Keys should not be discounted.
The American won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open at the start of the year as she beat Sabalenka in the final.
Last year she reached the round of 16 and was well on her way to reaching the quarter-final when she picked up an injury while in 2023 she reached the last eight before losing against Sabalenka.
Robson added: “Our second seed here this week is Mady Keys and I kind of think what would have happened last year had she not pulled up with an injury in the fourth round at Wimbledon so there’s definitely a chance for loads of different people.”
