A fantastic women’s tournament gave way to a new champion, Marketa Vondrousova.

Although not a household name and not seeded at this tournament, Marketa is no stranger to Grand Slam finals. She reached the French Open final in 2019, losing to Ash Barty. Since then, it’s been an uphill battle as she suffered injury after injury. However, that’s all behind now and she can call herself a Wimbledon champion. 

Unfortunately, it had to be fan favorite Ons Jabeur on the other side, playing in her third Grand Slam final and second consecutive Wimbledon final. After dispatching tournament favorites Sabalenka and Rybakina, it seemed that Ons was on her way to her dream of hoisting the trophy on this fortnight. However, she came out a bit flat, and Marketa took full advantage of her lack of consistency. Marketa frustrated Ons with her defensive skills, putting ball after ball into play and also completely neutralizing Ons’ ability to execute the drop shot. The lefty serve on the ad side also troubled Ons. She will now need to wait until next year for another shot at Wimbledon. 

Meanwhile, there were other story lines at Wimbledon that seemed to captivate fans worldwide. Here’s a few of them:

      •  Svitolina is barely back on the WTA tour after having a baby last year, and she’s won a tournament and made the quarters at the French Open and semifinals at Wimbledon. She’s now squarely back in the top 30 of the world, which means she’ll be seeded at the US Open. Expect to see her in the second week there as well.

     •   How about 16-year-old teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva? She’s barely out of the juniors and makes a nice run to the third round of the French Open and then follows that with a run to the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Both times having to go through rigorous qualifying to make the main draw. 

    •    Although ousted in the second week, the trio of Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Rybakina continue to be the players to beat at major tournaments. All three go deep at every Grand Slam and all three will continue to be a force to be reckoned with at the big stages.

It is now on to the US Open. Of note, be on the lookout for another former Grand Slam winner, former number one, and recent mom making a comeback. During Wimbledon, Caroline Wozniacki confirmed her comeback. Should be exciting to watch!

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