Wimbledon Ladies Tennis Players

Chances are that one of the Williams’ sisters will come back strongly to claim the coveted ladies’ singles title at Wimbledon 2008. Both Venus and Serena are on a major resurgence and are currently in the top ten of the WTA rankings yet again.

If you cast your eyes down the list of Wimbledon ladies’ champions, one name is repeated over and over again, and that is “Williams”. The sisters have taken it in turns to claim the ladies singles crown and have done so with boring regularity since the year 2000.

Only two other players have been successful during the eight year timeframe, and it was Maria Sharapova in 2004 and Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.

Venus has won at the All England Club four times (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007) and her sister twice (2002, 2003), and although they both withdrew from the end of season WTA Championships due to injury, they have the knack of returning to the Grand Slam events in top form and hungry for a win. Venus is, after all, the defending champion.

It would be foolish to write off the current world number one. Although Justine Henin has a preference for clay court surfaces, she has yet to win the coveted London title. She is a feisty, hard working Wimbledon ladies’ tennis player who is surely dying to claim the one Grand Slam title that has eluded her over the years.

Russian, Maria Sharapova, has had a taste of victory on centre court. Although her 2007 was marred by injury woes, she came back strongly at the WTA Championships, and almost clinched the title from Belgian number one, Henin, in the longest match of the tournament’s history.

Then there is the group of young Eastern Europeans who are dominating the WTA ranking. Any of Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Nadia Petrova or Svetlana Kuznetsova could claim the ladies’ singles title.

The Serbs, Jankovic and Ivanovic, have probably shown the best form of their careers recently, and are ranked third and fourth respectively. Ivanovic in particular has shown that she is at home on any surface, so the grass courts of Wimbledon should not pose too much of a problem.

Let’s not forget Amelie Mauresmo, who defied her critics by claiming two Grand Slam titles in a single year. She has had a shocker of a 2007 season and has been plagued by injury. The R&R she will be able to enjoy over the Christmas break may just be what she needs to get back into top form again. She has won Wimbledon once there is no reason why she cannot triumph again.