Friday, 27 June 2025 12:36 PM BST
Sabalenka's path full of roadblocks

Aryna Sabalenka, the No.1 seed in the Ladies' Singles, has been handed a tough draw as she goes in search of her first Wimbledon title.

The draw in full

Should she win her opening two matches (the second of which could be against last year's quarter-finalist Lulu Sun), the twice Australian Open champion could well face Emma Raducanu, 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, or this year's Nottingham Open winner, McCartney Kessler. It couldn't get much tougher.

A total of 128 players feature in the draw, with 32 seeded players, 16 qualifiers and eight wild cards.

Should Sabalenka get through these numerous roadblocks, she's slated to play the No.14 seed, Elina Svitolina, in the fourth round and the current Australian Open champion, Madison Keys, in the quarter-finals. 

Last year's beaten finalist and No.4 seed, Jasmine Paolini, has been handed what looks a relatively comfortable draw, but Linda Noskova does have a giant-killing way about her and might fancy her chances if they do meet in the third round. A possible tie with Amanda Anisimova or Beatriz Haddad Maia might be on the cards in the round of 16 for the Italian.

Qinwen Zheng, gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympic Games and the No.5 seed, could face Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster in the second round, and perhaps the always dangerous Diana Shnaider for a place in the last 16, if the seeding goes to plan.

Shnaider, who won four WTA titles last year, including one on grass at Bad Homburg, might have to overcome Jelena Ostapenko first, though.

In the bottom half of the draw, Mirra Andreeva and No.3 seed Jessica Pegula are projected to meet in the quarter-finals. First though, the 18-year-old could meet Petra Kvitova, twice a former champion and playing in her final Wimbledon, or Emma Navarro. Last year, Navarro beat Coco Gauff here in the round of 16.

Pegula's early portion of the draw features Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has won two WTA Tour titles on grass, both at s'Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, and also Belinda Bencic. The Swiss, with arguably the best drive-volley in the game, has been injured recently but is a threat on any surface and has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon on three occasions.

Also in the section of the draw, last year's champion, Barbora Krejcikova will begin her defence against Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines on Centre Court on Tuesday.

In the bottom quarter of the draw, No.2 seed and recent Roland-Garros champion Coco Gauff has been given a tough start against Nottingham finalist Dayana Yastremska. Should she get past the hard-hitting Ukrainian, then Sofia Kenin might lie in wait. Kenin's victory over Gauff in the first round two years ago hurt the American, but prompted some soul-searching which ultimately led her to win two Grand Slams.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, could be Gauff's opponent in the fourth round, with the winner projected to face Iga Swiatek, who is still seeking her best form on grass.

In 2024, the former world No.1 - who has slipped to No.8 in the world rankings - skipped all the Wimbledon warm-up tournaments, and this year opted for just Bad Homburg in Germany to get in some matches on grass.

She was, however, girls' singles champion in 2018 and is yet to win a title this year. Perhaps the Pole will do an Andre Agassi and surprise the tennis world, and herself, by lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish for the first time.

It's going to be fascinating.