2018 Wimbledon Ladies’ seed report

With Simona Halep finally winning her first Major championship at the French Open, making it four first-time winners in the last five Grand Slams contested, the tennis world gathers on the famous lawns of Wimbledon after a short grass-court season comes to an end.

Here’s how we see the 125th edition of the Ladies’ event playing out:

Wimbledon Seeds

1. Simona Halep: Finally shook off the tag of being “Slamless” with her come-from-behind win against Sloane Stephens in the finals of Roland Garros to win her long-awaited and well-deserved first Major. Withdrew from Eastbourne with an achilles injury and she’s in the same quarter as tournament favorite Petra Kvitova.
Embed from Getty Images
2. Caroline Wozniacki: Just picked up her second career grass court title in Eastbourne, where she won her first in 2009. Has never been past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and has a tricky draw with the likes of Ekaterina Makarova, Coco Vandeweghe, Agnieszka Radwanska, Camila Giorgi, and Anastasija Sevastova in her way. It could be a very short stay in London for the Dane.

3. Garbine Muguruza: Well, the good news is that the defending champion had an encouraging tournament in Paris, reaching the semifinals before losing to Halep. She does randomly peak for a couple of tournaments a year and that could be the case here. The issue continues to be consistency, which I will put down to not retaining Conchita Martinez as her full-time coach to bring out her full potential.
Embed from Getty Images
4. Sloane Stephens: Looked as solid as a rock in Paris and was on course for her second major title until that choke against Halep and the 6-1 third set was very discouraging. Still, at a career high in the rankings and (unlike Muguruza) with a newfound consistency, she could do damage at SW19. Not an easy opener against Donna Vekic.

5. Elina Svitolina: Still has never reached the semifinals at a Major as the pressure continues to mount. This is the surface where she is most vulnerable to big hitters as evidenced by being dismissed against Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 16 here last year. She’ll cross that semifinal threshold eventually, but until she does it, I won’t pick her again to do it.

6. Caroline Garcia: Not much to speak of in terms of grass results, but continues to hold steady in the rankings. Has a game suited for grass and a fairly favorable draw (her first-rounder against Belinda Bencic would be more attractive if the Swiss was in her late 2017-early 2018 form) until a possible fourth round meeting with Angelique Kerber.

7. Karolina Pliskova: She has to do better here at some point, right? She has never been past the second round (the only Major she’s never been beyond the quarterfinals). Lost to Aryna Sabalenka in her Eastbourne title defense and has a blockbuster second-rounder with Victoria Azarenka, but her powerful weapons mean I’ll roll the dice with her one more time to make a deep run in London.
Embed from Getty Images
8. Petra Kvitova: Has had a brilliant 2018, winning five titles, including defending her title at Birmingham. Pulled out of Eastbourne as a precautionary measure, but she is the clear favorite to win her third title at Wimbledon. A 30-8 career record at the event plus her form this year has deservedly given her that aforementioned front-runner tag.

9. Venus Williams: Always a threat here, but her disappointing (by her standards) year has meant she is less-fancied than in years past. Her finals points from here are holding up her ranking. A Round of 16 showdown with Pliskova could well determine how far the five-time Wimbledon progresses.

10. Madison Keys: Only Major where the big-hitting American has not reached the semifinals. Has made the quarters or better at three straight majors (only losing to Stephens and Kerber), she made the semis in Paris and is in an ideal section of the draw. With David Taylor at the helm as coach now, Keys has a tremendous chance to get very far.

11. Angelique Kerber: Not back to her 2016 form, but looks excellent on the grass so far. Has had trouble beating Halep and Wozniacki this year, but wouldn’t see them until the semifinals and finals, respectively. A past finalist, she could reprise her fourth round encounter with Muguruza from last year (the best match of the tournament) with a different outcome and parlay it into a deep run.

12. Jelena Ostapenko: Could see her doing well now that the pressure of defending a major is off. Reached the quarters here last year and her go-for-broke style will always make her a risk to pick for deep runs, but she has a new coach in Glenn Schaap, who did wonderfully with Anett Kontaveit. Would love to see that third rounder with Sharapova.

13. Julia Goerges: Has lost five straight times in the first round at Wimbledon and has disappointed in the Slams this year after a hot start to the year. Interesting first round match against Monica Puig. If she navigates that, a Round of 16 against Stephens is very possible.

14. Daria Kasatkina: Very impressive run to the quarters in Paris, defeating Wozniacki along the way. Lost a thriller to Kerber in Eastbourne and finally seems to be utilizing her power game rather than resorting to pushing most of the time. Beat Muguruza in Dubai and may get another shot at the defending champion in the 16’s.

15. Elise Mertens: Lost early in the grass season, which is understandable after a meteoric rise up the rankings in the last year or so. Terrible draw that begins with Danielle Collins, Konta in the third round, and Halep in the fourth (who she’s struggled with this year). Still, the Belgian will be someone to keep an eye on going forward.

16. Coco Vandeweghe: Was a win away from the semis last year, but got outclassed by Rybarikova (no shame in that as it would turn out). Has one win in Majors this year and has the unpredictable Katerina Siniakova in the first round. Interesting stat: 12 of her 31 career Major match wins have come in London.
Embed from Getty Images
17. Ashleigh Barty: Was handled easily by Wozniacki in the quarters of Eastbourne, but her variety and all-court game make her a threat on the slick grass. Possible second-round clash with 2014 finalist Eugenie Bouchard and what would be a terrific third-round encounter with Kasatkina.

18. Naomi Osaka: Her first-round matchup with Monica Niculescu is a must-watch for the contrasting style of play. Another player who has a game built for grass, but may not make it past the third round because Kerber will be looming.

19. Magdalena Rybarikova: Her run to the semis was a joy to watch. Her defeat of Pliskova along the way was a clinic in old-school grass tennis. Not to be taken lightly now that she is seeded, but the draw could present problems in the form of Sorana Cirstea in the first round and Keys in the third.

20. Kiki Bertens: Was one of the in-form players during the clay season, her best surface. Now arguably on her worst, she’s in a section with Venus, Azarenka, Pliskova, Sabalenka and Mihaela Buzarnescu. Not good.

21. Anastasija Sevastova: Semis in Mallorca was a good sign for the Latvian and has a fascinating opening round match with Giorgi. I’ve probably liked her more than most in terms of predicting deep Slam runs, but outside of two quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, she’s done very little. That could change here with a reasonable draw.

22. Johanna Konta: Big-time slump for the Brit in 2018 and has a ton of points to defend after delighting the home crowd with a semifinal showing last year. The way her season has unfolded, she’d relish the chance to meet Halep in the fourth round after their quarterfinal classic from last year, which Konta won.

23. Barbora Strycova: Her only major quarterfinal came here in 2016. At least the draw gave her some entertaining matchups with Svetlana Kuznetsova in round one and Goerges in round three.

24. Maria Sharapova: She’s back! (well, at least at Wimbledon, anyway). Speaking of entertaining draws, Ostapenko in round three and Kvitova in round four is as good as it gets. If she can navigate that, she should be taken seriously to perhaps take home her second title at SW19.

25. Serena Williams: Speaking of being back, it’s a pleasure to see the seven-time champion back on the most famous lawns in the world. Deserved her seed despite her ranking of 156th, but with no grass matches played this year due to a torn pectoral muscle, she’s a threat to win only by reputation.
Embed from Getty Images
26. Daria Gavrilova: Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of her game or her personality and she was picked off by Radwanska in Eastbourne. If Samantha Stosur doesn’t take her out in the second round, Kvitova undoubtedly will in the third.

27. Carla Suarez Navarro: Still one of the best players to never have reached a Grand Slam semifinal. Still one of the prettiest one-handed backhands in the game. Has one of the toughest draws for a seed in this range (Carina Witthoeft, Kaia Kanepi, Garcia).

28. Anett Kontaveit: If you read these reports, you know i’m a big fan of the Estonian, but the shellacking she received by Stephens at Roland Garros and the surprising split with Schaap (she hired Nigel Sears to replace him) has me backing off of her…………for now. Would need to beat Muguruza to equal her best Slam result (Round of 16 twice).

29. Mihaela Buzarnescu: Continues to surprise and impress and knocked off Svitolina in Paris. Was dominated by Ostapenko in Eastbourne and has a brutal first-rounder with Sabalenka, which is a must-watch.

30. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: Not going to repeat what I say about the Russian because it’s nothing new, so i’ll just throw this out there: Su-wei Hsieh should provide good entertainment in the first round and Halep will beat her in the third round if she gets that far.

31. Shuai Zhang: She’s comfortable being in the Top 30 and she’s caused a few surprises in the past. Beat Stephens in the first round of the Australian Open this year and take a wild guess who her seed is in round three.

32. Agnieszka Radwanska: Semis in Eastbourne gave us the chance to watch her work her magic again (although she benefited from Kvitova’s withdrawl in the third round). I don’t think she will come close to repeating her finals appearance in 2012, but could get to the quarters with Wozniacki being her seed in the fourth round.

Best first round matches

Giorgi vs Sevastova: Big, powerful hitter (Giorgi) vs crafty shotmaker (Sevastova). If the Italian is on, an upset is a strong possibility. If not, this will go quick. Let’s hope it goes three.

Vekic vs Stephens: Sloane hasn’t always followed up deep progression at a Slam with deep progression at the next one. That being said, I outlined how she’s consistent now (#4 ranking and Miami title prove that), but this is a dangerous first-round opponent may momentarily continue that old trend.

Sabalenka vs Buzarnescu: The Belarussian may be tired after playing every day in Eastbourne (singles and doubles) and this is not the opponent you want to face in that spot. If she’s at full strength, she’ll move on.

Rybarikova vs Cirstea: Classic case of old-school elegant grass court tennis meeting brute-force power. Will be interesting to see how the Slovak does for an encore after her semifinal showing last year. Another good run could be on the cards if she can get past this one.

Niculescu vs Osaka: As mentioned above, this could be a fascinating watch just because the Romanian plays such a quirky style that Osaka’s patience will be severely tested. Every match is a learning experience for her and this is another one.