Wimbledon is set to get underway on Monday, and on the women’s side, quality matches will start right from the first round. With top players facing tough opponents and unseeded players battling it out for a place in the second round, there are promising matchups up and down the draw. Here are the top 10 first-round women’s matches at Wimbledon.
10 Best Women’s First-Round Matches at Wimbledon
(32) Katerina Siniakova vs Qinwen Zheng
In a rematch of a bombastic first-round match from last year’s Wimbledon, Qinwen Zheng and No. 32 seed Katerina Siniakova will meet once again. Last year, it was Zheng who was seeded, and Siniakova who pulled off the three-set upset, but Zheng has the potential to turn the tables this year. She’s notched a few quality grass-court wins in her comeback, and Siniakova has only played one grass tournament. Last year, Siniakova ran away with the third set after a competitive first two, and the ultimate factor will be whoever is playing better tennis down the stretch.
Peyton Stearns vs Nikola Bartunkova
Though she ultimately didn’t manage to pull off the upset, Nikola Bartunkova’s most recent grass result was a near-defeat of Aryna Sabalenka in which she was up a set and a double break. Against a much lower-ranked player, Bartunkova’s clear grass-court skills should be able to get her the win, but Peyton Stearns is no easy out. While Stearns doesn’t have much success on grass, one of the most crucial aspects of her game is her ability to draw out matches, and she could provide a challenge for Bartunkova, who doesn’t have much Grand Slam experience. For Bartunkova, this will be a good test of how well she can translate the grass-court skill she’s shown to the courts of Wimbledon.
(4) Jessica Pegula vs Darja Vidmanova
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula is going into Wimbledon with odd expectations. She’s coming off a run to the final in Berlin, but she’s had poor early losses at Wimbledon in the last two years. Recently making her top-100 debut, Darja Vidmanova is far from an easy first round. Coming off a 125 title and making an additional 125 semifinal on grass, Vidmanova has been playing her best tennis in recent weeks and could pose a challenge for Pegula, who may once again struggle early at Wimbledon.
Yulia Putintseva vs Tatjana Maria
Every year when grass season rolls around, Tatjana Maria takes full advantage of her surface specialism, and this year is no exception. Maria has been playing well the last few weeks, and though she hasn’t yet managed to replicate her 2022 Wimbledon semifinal run, a match against Yulia Putintseva is a good place to start. Putintseva has had solid results at Wimbledon, having beaten Iga Swiatek back in 2024, but right now she’s vulnerable enough that Maria should be able to take advantage. Maria’s variety can throw off Putintseva’s rhythm very easily. Though it’ll be difficult to hit through Putintseva entirely, this is a first-round match Maria should be able to pull through.
Ashlyn Krueger vs (31) Donna Vekic
Donna Vekic, seeded No. 31, propelled herself up the rankings with a run to the title in Queen’s Club. She also completely turned around her prospects at Wimbledon, but Ashlyn Krueger is far from an easy third round. Krueger just won a grass 125 and came through Wimbledon qualifying with only one set dropped. On grass, Krueger’s serve is a weapon no player wants to face, and if she can break Vekic’s serve or push a set or two to a tiebreak, Krueger has a legitimate chance to pull off the upset. The margin for error will be incredibly low in this match, and aggressive, first-strike tennis will be the norm.
(23) Emma Navarro vs Paula Badosa
Paula Badosa and 23rd seed Emma Navarro had a similar trajectory in their most recent tournaments. Both players pulled off a big upset (Badosa over Coco Gauff and Navarro over Iga Swiatek), then fell in the very next match. They’ve both struggled with injuries and health issues throughout this year, and as such, their results have been extremely inconsistent. Navarro has the edge in recent results, and in the matchup, as in most rallies, Badosa will certainly make an error before Navarro does. Still, if Badosa manages to bring the level she did against Gauff, it’ll be a grueling match for either to get through.
(13) Jasmine Paolini vs Robin Montgomery
Perhaps the most vulnerable seed in the tournament, former Wimbledon finalist and No. 13 seed Jasmine Paolini has drawn one of the toughest qualifiers. Robin Montgomery won the title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and had an excellent run in qualifying that primes her for an upset. Paolini has struggled throughout the season and has only played one match on grass, a loss in Eastbourne. Montgomery has proven herself comfortable on the surface and can certainly keep the match close, if not run away with it entirely.
Maria Sakkari vs (24) Clara Tauson
24th seed Clara Tauson has found her best form just in time for Wimbledon, coming off a run to the quarterfinals of Bad Homburg, where she defeated Diana Shnaider and Qinwen Zheng before falling in a close match to Karolina Muchova. Before that tournament, though, Tauson had been struggling to find wins, and that’s the form that Maria Sakkari will want to take advantage of in this first-round match. While grass isn’t Sakkari’s best surface, she does have plenty of wins in the early rounds and isn’t an easy out, and could be a frustrating player for Tauson to face.
Serena Williams vs Maya Joint
The biggest storyline on the women’s side before the draw came out was who Serena Williams would face. With the draw revealed, she couldn’t have asked for a better first round. Maya Joint proved herself to be a good grass courter with a run to last year’s Eastbourne title, but this year, Joint hasn’t won a match on grass and is barely winning singles matches at all. Serena Williams’ history and accolades at Wimbledon need no introduction, and though she hasn’t played a singles match yet in her comeback, she’s looked solid on the doubles court, and she can certainly still compete.
Taylor Townsend vs (3) Iga Swiatek
Defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek played only one grass warm-up tournament, and she lost in her opening match to Emma Navarro. Taylor Townsend also played only one grass warmup and managed a single win, but that’s a tough first round to face. For Swiatek, this match has to be about erasing doubt as she starts her title defense campaign, as she showed some real vulnerability in her only grass showing so far this season. If Swiatek is playing at the level she was at during last year’s edition of Wimbledon, this shouldn’t be too daunting a challenge, but this match is extremely important for Swiatek to get things on track.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
