There was a time when even if you knew little about women’s tennis, you could guess who the best player in the world was. For years it was either Venus Williams or her sister Serena. Those two revolutionized the women’s game and managed to transcend a sport that has more often than not concentrated on the men’s game.
But since Serena’s retirement – and Venus’ injury-plagued brief appearance at Wimbledon this year – there have been several different players aiming to become as dominant as the two Williams sisters were.
For tennis fans, a range of top female players is good news, as it means that the tournaments are more unpredictable and the excitement is ramped up with every single competition. Whether you know exactly how to bet on tennis or are new to the sport, here are seven female players you need to keep an eye on.
Iga Swiatek
She may have just been surprisingly dumped out of this year’s Wimbledon Championships, but Iga Swiatek is the current world number one and still the player to beat. She has held that position since April of 2022, about the time she started winning just about everything going.
After winning her first major back in 2020, Swiatek added the French and US Opens in 2022 – and repeated her triumph in Paris earlier this year. She still needs to improve her grasscourt game to be considered an all-surface star, but at just 22 years old, the Polish player has time on her side.
Coco Gauff
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Speaking of young talent, Cori “Coco” Gauff has been on every tennis fan’s watch list for several years now. Still only 19, Gauff is a marketing person’s dream and holds several high-profile endorsements even though she has yet to win a single major championship.
If it feels as if the American has been around forever, it might be because she turned professional at just 14 and started winning doubles and singles tournaments just a year later. Inspired by the Williams sisters, Gauff has reached the final of the French Open singles and the doubles at the US Open. A major title win is surely not too far away.
Jessica Pegula
A veteran compared to the two tennis players already profiled, Jessica Pegula is still yet to go further than the last eight of any of the majors. But she is currently in the form of her life, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian and French Open – as well as Wimbledon – last year.
The daughter of the multi-billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres franchises, Pegula may have been allowed to do anything she wanted, but she has worked hard to climb the WTA rankings. She has teamed up with Coco Gauff in doubles recently, so maybe that is where we will see the first major title won for both players.
Aryna Sabalenka
With a powerful serve and probing groundstrokes, Aryna Sabalenka has powered her way to the top echelons of the women’s game and has come to the fore in the last five or six years. The Belarusian player has done particularly well in 2023, reaching the semifinal of the French Open and winning her first-ever major in Australia at the beginning of the year.
Sabalenka had previously won major titles in the doubles game but now seems to be taking the singles game by storm. She had to miss last year’s Wimbledon because of her country’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, but she has voiced her opposition to the conflict and is hoping to concentrate on her tennis to promote her nation in a different light.
Elena Rybakina
She became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a major title last year when she beat Ons Jabeur to claim the Wimbledon women’s singles and now Elena Rybakina is doing her best to stay at the top of the game. She has so far won five career titles and is the current world number three.
Another aggressive baseline player, Rybakina can mix up her game to surprise opponents with grace and subtlety, making her almost impossible to predict. She made it to the final of the Australian Open at the start of the year and has also recently won her first WTA 1000 clay title, suggesting that she is beginning to improve on all surfaces.
Ons Jabeur
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Benefitting from the massive investment in tennis in her home country of Tunisia, Ons Jabeur has become the face of tennis in the Arab world and was the first African female to reach a major final in the modern era when she eventually lost to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon last year.
Jabeur also made it to the final of the US Open later in 2022 but that first major title still eludes her. Her wide range of options on the court – and her love of slice and drop shots – leaves opponents continually guessing what will come next and Jabeur seems destined for the very top.
But even her achievements so far have been credited with changing the image of women’s tennis across Africa.
Carolina Garcia
Although Carolina Garcia has had more major success in doubles competitions, winning the French Open in both 2016 and 2022, she is also a feared opponent in the singles tournaments and has won 11 WTA Tour titles so far. She was also part of the France team that won the 2019 Federation Cup.
A powerful server and baseline specialist, Garcia favors her two-handed backhand and looks to dominate opponents by wearing them down. She is still to go further than the last four of any major championship but is the current WTA Finals singles champion.
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