Swiatek in a post-match press conference. Victor Velter Via Shutterstock
After the favorite, Iga Swiatek´s elimination, two unlikely underdogs stand two matches away from lifting their first Grand Slam Trophy.
The Polish five-time tournament favorite was eliminated two sets to one by the world’s 35th-ranked Yulia Putinseva in the tournament´s third round. The upset shook up the tournament bracket, and while Putinseva was eliminated in the next round by 14th-ranked Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, the upset has rocked the Wimbledon predictions of many.
Anyone´s tournament to win
The upset made waves in the tennis world as many had Swiatek slotted as the likely favorite. Putinseva was not the only upset, however, Coco Gauff, who holds second place in the ATP power rankings was eliminated by 17th-ranked Emma Navarro. Most notable among the Cinderella stories, however, are those of Barbora Krejcikova and Donna Vekic.
Krejcikova ranked 31 in ATP´s rankings, and Vekic, ranked 37, are two underdogs that have held on and continued to advance through the rounds. They now find themselves in the semifinals, two games away from lifting Wimbledon´s Women’s Singles Trophy, dubbed the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Two familiar faces in finals
Across the lawn, Vekic will face off against Italian 7th-ranked Jasmine Paolini. For Paolini, she will hope to take home her second title of the year after winning the Dubai Women’s Singles Tennis Championships in February. She has cruised through the competition so far, having won all of her matches in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina will face off against Krejcikova on the other side of the Bracket. Ranked currently 4th in the world, Rybakina has been having a very successful 2024 season, with a 35-7 record in major tournaments. She has also won a collection of silverware this far in the season, lifting trophies at the Brisbane International, Abu Dhabi Open, and the Stuttgart Open.
The semifinal matches will both take place at six p.m. on Thursday, July 11th, with the final taking place on Sunday, July 13th.
