In the 17 years between 2000 and 2016, six women won the Wimbledon title — and the two winners with the most trophies between them had the same surname. Venus and Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Marion Bartoli, and Amelie Mauresmo lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish, with the Williams sisters’ combined 12 titles (and four finals in which they played each other) bringing an atmosphere of inevitability that was occasionally and happily injected with surprise.
Since then, including Serena’s last title in 2016, seven different women have won Wimbledon in seven tournaments, with the 2020 edition having been cancelled due to Covid-19. Williams; Garbine Muguruza; Angelique Kerber; Simona Halep; Ash Barty; Elena Rybakina; and Marketa Vondrousova.
Serena Williams and sister Venus dominated Wimbledon for many years (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
On Saturday July 13, an eighth will follow, when Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who had never won a tour-level match on grass until last month, takes on Barbora Krejcikova, the Czech whose best result at the All England Club prior to this year was the fourth round. They have come through a draw in which the top seeds have fallen at regular intervals, starting with Belarusian world No 3 Aryna Sabalenka withdrawing with a…
