4. Iga Swiatek
WTA Ranking: 3
Previous Power Rankings: 6
Swiatek won Wimbledon in 2025 as an eighth seed, which was the first grass-court title of her career and was widely received as a watershed moment in her development as an all-surface player. It was also, in some sense, the most Swiatek result available: winning a tournament almost nobody expected her to win on the surface she was least suited to, through sheer competitive intensity and tactical adaptation. Whether she has genuinely become a grass-court threat or whether 2025 was a peak performance on a surface that does not consistently reward her game is the central question around her Wimbledon chances in 2026. The defending champion goes fourth. She cannot be dismissed. She also cannot be assumed to be the favorite on the basis of one title, and her record at Wimbledon outside of 2025 does not suggest grass has become her second home.
5. Jessica Pegula
WTA Ranking: 4
Previous Power Rankings: 7
Jessica Pegula has had the most quietly consistent season in the draw. She has reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open this year, reached the Berlin final, and has played at a steadily high level without the peaks and troughs that surround most of the players ranked above her. Her Wimbledon record is not spectacular, having never made the final, but her serve and flat ball-striking translate reasonably well to the surface. She is not the most exciting player to rank here and she is probably not winning the tournament. She is, however, the most reliable player in the draw after the top four, and reliability matters across a fortnight.
6. Elina Svitolina
WTA Ranking: 8
Previous Power Rankings: 4
Elina Svitolina goes sixth on this list on the basis of grass-court pedigree and the specific quality of her movement and defensive game, both of which become more valuable on a surface that rewards clean winners and punishes passive baseline tennis. She reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2023 as a mother returning from maternity leave, which remains one of the more extraordinary individual achievements in recent Grand Slam history. Her 2026 season has been very good albeit not exceptional. The ceiling at Wimbledon for Svitolina at this stage of her career is probably a quarterfinal. Getting there would require her best tennis. She is capable of producing it.
