Defending champion Iga Swiatek is not among the favourites to win Wimbledon this year, according to ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez.
The Pole was also an outsider at the grass-court Grand Slam last year following a difficult first half of the season, but she finished runner-up at the Bad Homburg Open in her final warm-up event and then everything clicked at SW19 as she dropped only one set en route to winning the title.
And Swiatek’s build-up to her title defence has been similar as she is yet to reach a WTA singles final so far in 2026 with the Bad Homburg event her last tournament before she heads to Wimbledon.
The six-time Grand Slam winner had another disappointing clay-court season if compared to her usually high standards, as she lost in the round of 16 at Roland Garros, slumping further behind world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No 2 Elena Rybakina in the WTA Rankings.
Swiatek will be seeded third at Wimbledon, but she didn’t get a mention from former players McEnroe and Fernandez when they were asked for their favourites to win the third major of the year.
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“Rybakina would be my favourite, although Sabalenka may be the odds maker favourite, I don’t know. I’ve mentioned a couple of times [Iva] Jovic as an outsider,” the ESPN tennis analyst said during an interview with SportsBoom.com.
Reigning Australian Open champion Rybakina, of course, is a former Wimbledon winner as she won the title in 2022 and also reached the semi-final two years later.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka remains the dominamt force on the WTA Tour, but she is yet to reach a final at Wimbledon, although she has made it to the last four at SW19 on her last three appearances.
Commentator Fernandez also feels the top two are ahead of the field, telling SportsBoom: “We’ll see. [Linda] Noskova, who won the [Berlin Open] tournament. [Marta] Kostyuk played really well the last few months and could do some damage. There are a lot of possibilities.
“Even though Rybakina and Sabalenka didn’t win a title going into Wimbledon, I still think you put them ahead of the field.”
She also believes there are other players who could cause a few surprises.
“I think [Jessica] Pegula could do really well. If Madison Keys gets hot, she can do well. [Alex] Eala hits the ball early, hits the ball flat, and moves well. She could be dangerous,” the former world No 4 and three-time Grand Slam singles finalist added.