Wednesday, July 16, 2025

2025 Grass Court Awards: Defying Grass Court Gravity





And, thus, the suspension of Iga Swiatek's grass court disbelief...






Grass Court Top Players list: HERE



As for the rest...
















#1 - AND JUST LIKE THAT ...Iga Swiatek re-writes the script of her grass court career, completing her Career Surface Slam with her maiden Wimbledon title. Her first title in more than a year ('24 RG) didn't include a win over a Top 10 player, but concluded with a 6-0/6-0 win in the final (the first double-bagel title match at SW19 since 1911) vs. incoming Top 10er Amanda Anisimova.
#2 - AVE MARIA ...in the first Queen's Club women's event since 1973, 37-year old Tatjana Maria goes from qualifier to the fourth-oldest singles champion in WTA history on the strength of her confounding slice-and-dice game that set some of the best players in the world back on their heels, posting wins over Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and, in the final, Wimbledon-finalist-to-be Amanda Anisimova
#3 - LOOK WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN ...healthy after yet another injury break, Marketa Vondrousova claims Berlin -- w/ wins over Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka (at #164, the third-lowest player to ever defeat a world #1) -- to win her first tour title since Wimbledon in 2023
#4 - IT'S JESS! (AGAIN!) ...after running her SF winning streak to nine, Jessie Pegula wins Bad Homburg with a victory over first-time grass finalist Iga Swiatek. Pegula is the only woman (so far) to lift trophies in '25 on all three surfaces.
#5 - THE FIRST, PART II ...Wang Ziying wins Wimbledon to become the first Chinese wheelchair slam singles champ (denying Yui Kamiji the only major title she's yet to claim), six months after she and Li Xiaohui became the first Chinese slam doubles champs in Melbourne. Wang swept the s/d titles at SW19.
#6 - AMANDA-RAMA DOES LONDON ...Amanda Anisimova notches her first career #1 win in the Wimbledon SF (def. Sabalenka) and reaches her maiden major final -- the fourth different U.S. woman to play in the last four slam title matches -- to set up her Top 10 debut
#7 - FATE, MATCH POINTS AND MERTENS ...Elise Mertens claims her first career grass title at Rosmalen, saving eleven MP in a SF match-up vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
#8 - AGE IS JUST A NUMBER ...Laura Siegemund, 37, becomes the oldest first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, and comes up just short of being the oldest first-time major semifinalist in the Open era, holding a GP for 5-3 in the 3rd vs. Aryna Sabalenka
#9 - WHAT DO YOU GIVE THE PERSON WHO HAS WON (ALMOST) EVERYTHING? ...Katerina Siniakova has a Career Golden Slam in doubles, 10 major doubles titles, two Olympic Gold medals (2 WD, 1 MX), a WTAF WD crown, a Fed Cup title, and 160 weeks as the WD #1, but she'd never won a slam MX crown until she teamed with Sem Verbeek to win Wimbledon
#10 - A GOOD THING COMES TO SHE WHO WAITED ...Veronika Kudermetova, four years after not being able to convert two MP in the Wimbledon doubles final, finally gets the crown (w/ Elise Mertens), denying Hsieh Su-wei her fifth SW19 title and Alona Ostapenko the doubles #1 ranking with a victory in the final
#11 - BANNERETTE ON THE RUN ...former NCAA All-American (U-Fla.) McCartney Kessler upsets the #1 seed (Haddad Maia) and two-time defending champ (Boulter) to win Nottingham, her third tour title in less than a year (and first on grass)
#12 - TWAS THE WEEK BEFORE A MAJOR... ...for the third time in three pre-major weeks in 2025, Maya Joint produced a career week. The week before the AO, the Aussie reached her first tour SF in Hobart, then in May swept the Rabat s/d in the days before the start of RG. Then, the week before Wimbledon, Joint reached a SF on a third surface this season, and won her first grass crown in Eastbourne (and reached the WD final) by overcoming a break deficit in the 3rd vs. Alex Eala, saving four MP, to crack the Top 50.
#13 - BETTER CALL BENCIC AGAIN ...Belinda Bencic reaches the Wimbledon semis, her first slam final four since 2019 (U.S.) and the first since becoming a first-time mother
#14 - THE LUCKIEST LOSER IN LONDON ...Solana Sierra falls in Wimbledon qualifying, but reaches the MD as a lucky loser at the eleventh hour and becomes the first LL to ever reach the 4th Round at SW19
#15 - A TURK'S DELIGHT ...Zeynep Sonmez reaches the Wimbledon 3rd Round, becoming the first Turk to reach the 3rd Round of a major, topping countrywoman Cagla Buyukakcay's best-ever collection of three 2nd Round results in slams in 2016-17






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*WELCOME TO WIMBLEDON (and, also, welcome to Wimbledon)*






*THE TOWEL THIEF, CAUGHT IN THE ACT*






*COCO ACTION SHOT APPRECIATION*

Once again, Coco -- the best "action shot" subject in the game -- could be The Logo...







*THE PROMISE OF A WIMBLEDON CAREER ENCAPSULATED (in under an hour)*







*IN A WORLD OF BLAND DRESS CODES, BE AN ADIDAS AT WIMBLEDON (acceptable exception: Wilson's Kostyuk collection)*






*KAROLINA MUCHOVA APPRECIATION CORNER*







*MARKETA ON POINT...*

Meanwhile, Marketa Vondrousova's work in this point (below, at 1:04) before MP deserves consideration for a monthly award. I mean, it's no underarm serve on MP in a blowout match, but it's pretty impressive.






*PERSONALIZATION (& PERSONAL STYLE) IS KEY*



Meanwhile, the debut of an all-white Wimbledon bandanna for Diana Shnaider is taking longer than the WTA to get a clue about a real marketing campaign...






*THE POLISH CHEF, Episode 1: "A Trip to Wimbledon"*






*SOMETIMES IT'S ALL ABOUT THE EFFORT*

Nice try, though...







*BUG 1, BOULTER 0*






*A DAY AT THE ZOO*



Marketa Vondrousova as "Charlie Bucket?" (i.e. w/ a Golden Ticket)




A day at the zoo, and a trip to the gift shop...







*TENNIS' VERSION OF "THE AGONY OF DEFEAT"*



Although Perez's team actually *won* this match, and reached the Bad Homburg final. Details, details.




*THE ONGOING ADVENTURES OF MIRRA ANDREEVA & "Señorita Topspin"*



If Conchita really wanted to go "full method" she'd have started yelling at Mirra when she missed a shot.




*PETKO KNOWS...*




Perhaps out of a sheer sense of shame (yeah, as if that's possible), the tour managed to get through Wimbledon without once again dragging out any of its remaining #WTARallyTheWorld items in a failed attempt to resurrect the latest rotting corpse of a marketing campaign that debuted just... (checks)... *four and a half months* ago.

I'm not sure its "relevant life" lasted much more than four and a half *days*... it was maybe closer to hours.




*THE PROMO THAT NEVER WILL BE*



This could be the basis of a touching WTA promotional spot... but, you know, it's the WTA. So, nope.





*IGA ON CLAY... IGA ON GRASS*








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MOST IMPROVED DOUBLES
1. Sonay Kartal, GBR 1. V.Kudermetova/Mertens, RUS/BEL
2. Maya Joint, AUS 2. Muhammad/Schuurs, USA/NED
3. Hailey Baptiste, USA 3. Hsieh/Ostapenko, TPE/LAT
4. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP 4. Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA
5. Solana Sierra, ARG 5. Anna Danilina, KAZ
6. Wang Xinyu, CHN 6. Haddad Maia/Siegemund, BRA/GER
7. Alex Eala, PHI 7. Mihalikova/Nicholls, SVK/GBR
8. Iva Jovic, USA 8. Khromacheva/Stollar, RUS/HUN
9. Victoria Mboko, CAN 9. Bouzkova/Danilina, CZE/KAZ
10. Carson Branstine, CAN 10. Guo Hanyu/Panova, CHN/RUS
11. Talia Gibson, AUS 11. Aiava/Bucsa, AUS/ESP
12. Valentina Ryser, SUI 12. Corley/Corley, USA/USA & Haverlag/Waltert, NED/SUI


DOWN WHEELCHAIR
1. Lulu Sun, NZL 1. Wang Ziying, CHN
2. Diede de Groot, NED 2. Li/Wang, CHN/CHN
3. Donna Vekic, CRO 3. Yui Kamiji, JPN
4. Coco Gauff, USA 4. Angelica Bernal, COL
5. Ons Jabeur, TUN 5. Bernal/Chasteau, COL/FRA
6. Elena Rybakina, KAZ 6. Li Xiaohui, CHN
7. Marta Kostyuk, UKR 7. Ksenia Chasteau, FRA
8. Karolina Muchova, CZE 8. Tanaka/Zhu, JPN/CHN
HM- Jasmine Paolini, ITA HM- Kgothatso Montjane, RSA




JUNIOR TEAM
1. Mia Pohankova, SVK 1. Siniakova/Verbeek, CZE/NED (MX)
2. Julieta Pareja, USA 2. Stefani/Salisbury, BRA/GBR (MX)
3. K.Penickova/Valdmannova, USA/CZE 3. Black/Hingis (WI Invit.)
4. Mimi Xu, GBR 4. Cibulkova/Strycova (WI Ivit.)
5. Frodin/Pareja, USA/USA 5. Babos/Pavic, HUN/CRO (MX)
6. Kovackova/Kovackova, CZE/CZE 6. Zhang/Arevalo, CHN/ELS (MX)
7. Vendula Valdmannova, CZE 7. O'Brien/Johansson (WI Invit.)
8. Elizara Yaneva, LTU 8. Majoli/Grosjean (WI Invit.)


COACH [PLAYER]
1. Rick Vleeshouwers [Anisimova]
2. Iain Hughes [Bencic]
3. Conchita Martinez [M.Andreeva]
4. Wim Fissette [Swiatek]
5. Mark Petchey [Raducanu]
6. Christopher Heyman [Mertens]
7. M.Knowles/M.Merklein [Pegula]
8. E.Hechtman/F.Tiafoe [Baptiste]
9. Anton Dubrov [Sabalenka]
10. Julie Hobbs/Ben Reeves [Kartal]
11. Danilo Pizzorno/Alessandro Dumitrache [Samsonova]
12. Patrick Mouratoglou [Osaka]
HM- Kasper Elsvad [Tauson]






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1. Eastbourne Final - Maya Joint def. Alex Eala
...6-4/1-6/7-6(10). The sixth final this decade to feature players whose combined age is under 40 (Joint 19, Eala 20), the youngest title match-up in Eastbourne since 1981 turned into a cracker of a contest as Joint became the fifth singles champ this season to save MP en route to the title.

Eala twice held early break leads in the 3rd before Joint forced a deciding TB. There, Eala had four MP chances to claim her maiden tour title (and the first by a PHI woman), at 6-5, 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9. Joint put away her second straight week-before-a-major title with a 12-10 win on her second MP.


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Whew!




2. Wimbledon QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Laura Siegemund
...4-6/6-2/6-4. The "impossible" (well, let's just say "unexpected") almost happened at this year's Wimbledon. Again. But then it didn't. But this grass court season's version of "German performance art" nearly stole the show once more.

At Queen's Club, 37-year old Tatjana Maria used her slice-filled game to win the title in the return of the women's tournament, defeating two former slam winners (Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys) along the way. 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Maria's run didn't carry over into Wimbledon (she lost in the 1st Round), but the variety-and-spice style of her 37-year old German countrywoman Siegemund's attack surely took the baton and ran with it on the AELTC lawns.

Already with wins over a U.S. Open finalist (#29 Leylah Fernandez) and reigning AO champ (#6 Madison Keys) during the fortnight, the latter being her second Top 10 win at a major this season (she'd had *none* in slam play before '25), Siegemund, having already broken Maria's record from '22 (when she was 34) as the oldest maiden Wimbledon quarterfinalist, had the chance to get her first #1 victory *and* break Maria's record as the oldest first-time semifinalist at *any* major.

Sabalenka entered having not lost a set at this Wimbledon, but not have come close to "breezing" through the draw. Through four matches, though she'd only dropped serve six total times, she'd had to win three tie-breaks, a 7-5 set and three close 6-4 stanzas. She didn't have a walk in the park proverbial park here, either... and it nearly turned into a long road to nowhere.

Siegemund's "tennis performance art" of deliberate movement around the court, sudden bursts of unexpected creativity, speed-altering strokes, serve clock limit-pushing pauses before striking a ball to begin a point and, in general, the sort of vexing game style that forces her opponents to actually have to tax their brains by *thinking* all match long (when so many prefer, with oft-brilliant results, to maintain a point-by-point rhythym of hitting hit the ball hard after it has, if they have their druthers, come back at them almost as hard from the *other* side of the net) was in fine form from the start on Day 9. There was often no deflecting her from her chosen path, and such a notion can't help but produce headaches and the sort of frustrations that challenge a foe to avoid seeing their will crushed one point at a time by the drip-drip-drip nature of such an attack.

Siegemund fired off a backhand return winner on BP to break Sabalenka in the opening game of the match, then held after denying the Belarusian on a BP of her own. With Sabalenka still not yet in a groove or having figured out (if she ever really would) what might work best vs. the German, she went up a double-break at 3-0. Sabalenka finally got on the board with a break of her own in game 4, then held in a tight service game moments later.

Siegemund's great shot anticipation, on return and at the net, carved out another BP chance in game 7. A Sabalenka error caused her to drop serve again, putting her behind 5-2. The German's worst game of the set (2 DF, down love/40) followed, as the #1 seed held onto faint hope, breaking then holding for 5-4. But Siegemund didn't falter, serving things out at 6-4 as Sabalenka lost her first set of the tournament.



Sabalenka took an early break lead at 2-0 in the 2nd, but Siegemund handled a big serve and elicited a responding error from Sabalenka to get back on serve a game later (breaking her for the fourth time on the day). Sabalenka got the break back at 4-2, despite Siegemund taking a 40/love lead, then had to save a BP and get a hold for 5-2. It was clear that if Sabalenka found a way through this one, she might need a "mental health day" to recover. She got the break to take the 2nd set (again it wasn't easy), taking a breath and heading to the 3rd.

Sabalenka held at love to open the decider, only to then see Siegemund go up 40/love in her first service game. Sabalenka close to 40/30, but the German held with net cord shot (of course she did), the broke at love a game later, utilizing a drop shot one one point, then winning a net battle on the next.

Down on the scoreboard, Sabalenka led love/30 in game 4, then pushed a shot ball wide that would have given her a BP chance. Siegemund held for 3-1. On the opening point for game 5, Sabalenka raced to antoher drop shot but hit it outside the line. Sabalenka whacked the top of net with a hard swing of her racket, but managed to hold serve (w/ the help of a missed overhead from Siegemund at 15/15). Sabalenka got things back on serve a game later (w/ the help of a DF from Siegemund that had given her a BP), only to then see her own unforced error total take a sudden jump in the next game. Down love/30, Sabalenka netted a down the line backhand on a mid-court ball, DF'd on GP, then netted a backhand near the service "T" off a Siegemund slice shot. Siegemund broke to take the lead again, at 4-3. The sixth break of Sabalenka's serve on the day equaled her total through the first four rounds of play.

In game 8, Siegemund had a GP for a 5-3 lead. The game saw Sabalenka win a "battle of slices" on one point, Siegemund hit the baseline with an overhead that produced a Sabalenka error on BP. On another BP chance, Siegemund fired a shot long off a Sabalenka return and things we knotted up again at 4-4.

It was then that Sabalenka finally found *it*, whatever *it* is. Dare one say it, was was very "Serena-like," as she blasted her *first* ace of the match to go up 40/love in game 9, then #2 on her second GP to take a 5-4 lead. Suddenly serving to stay in the match, Siegemund opened her serve game with an error and fell behind love/30. Down 15/40, she saved a Sabalenka MP with a drop shot, but on MP #2 Sabalenka took control of the rally and finally got a setter at the net. She put it away to win 4-6/6-2/6-4, and surely paused to take stock and try to make sense of how she'd survived seeing her Wimbledon life flash -- in bright lights -- before her eyes.



The win improves Sabalenka's career slam QF record to 12-1, as she reached the semis for the third time in her last three Wimbledon appearances (every odd-numbered edition this decade) and the eleventh time in her last fourteen major MD.


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3. Wimbledon SF - Amanda Anisimova def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/4-6/6-4. Since reaching her maiden slam semifinal at Roland Garros as a 17-year old back in 2019, Amanda Anisimova has gone through the tennis wringer. She was due, and deservingly so, to finally come out on the other side.

In the 1st set, the two didn't face a BP until the sixth game, in which Sabalenka climbed out of a 15/40 hole, with a pause for a spectator felled by the heat before the Belarusian emerged from her chair and finished off the 3-3 hold, then went up love/40 on Anisimova's serve. The Bannerette saved four BP in the game, and escaped any repercussions of a DF on her first GP, holding for 4-3.

Sabalenka served her way out of 15/30 deficit to knot things at 4-all, then after Anisimova edged ahead in the next game there was another break for a spectator having a hard time while sitting directly under the beating sun.

Meanwhile, it was in that moment that in the shaded Royal Box hats were passed out to all who wanted one... because, Wimbledon.

With Sabalenka serving to stay in the 1st, Anisimova was two points from taking the set before Sabalenka missed a backhand down the line shot to give her her first BP. After mishitting a return, Anisimova, who'd served well and matched the world #1's power while effectively utilizing her flat backshot shot to its upmost advantage, was soon given another BP opportunity and gifted a Sabalenka DF to secure the 6-4 opening set.



Early on, Anisimova kept up the pressure, not taking a breath and continuing to fire shots back at Sabalenka. But it was the #1 seed who raised the decibel level -- literally and figuratively -- of the game mid-way through the set, with her post-point yells filling Centre Court and her big shots maybe filling Anisimova's head. After Sabalenka held for 3-3, Anisimova fell down BP in the follow game, and DF'd to give Sabalenka the lead. The Belarusian quickly backed it up with a 5-3 hold.

With Anisimova trying hold on, Sabalenka's return misses prevented her from putting away the set on a combined four BP/SP opportunities. Anisimova held to force Sabalenka to serve it out. An Anisimova return error at 30/30 gave Sabalenka a chance to knot the match with a single swing of her racket, and she blasted a first serve off the line that Anisimova framed to end the 6-4 2nd set.



In the 3rd, Sabalenka appeared to have shifted into "championship mode" (or, in 2024, "championship final mode," at least), breaking Anisimova at love to open the set. But the Bannerette effectively reset and immediately got the break back, that saw an error/brain cramp in game 3 turn everything in her favor.

As Ansimova held a BP, Sabalenka fired a big serve that Anisimova could only get her racket on, giving the #1 seed a high-bouncing ball at the net to put away and keep the game alive. But Sabalenka, with an entire open court to hit into, went too big down the line in the vicinity of the the off-court Anisimova, sending the ball long and giving up the break lead at 3-1. A game later, from 15/40, Anisimova held for 4-1. Saving a BP for 5-1, Sabalenka stayed just one break behind.

In game 7, Sabalenka led 15/30, but netted a deep ball on a point that could given her double BP. A point later, Anisimova covered Sabalenka's drop shot with two volleys to reach GP, then held with a forehand that tripped off the net cord and bounced mid-court and prevented Sabalenka from getting her full racket on the ball. Anisimova was a game away at 5-2.

With Anisimova serving for the final at 5-3, Sabalenka saw Anisimova drop a MP with a pulled backhandn, then hand her break lead with a long backhand on Sabalenka'a second BP. But, with the final result once again in question, again Anisimova reset. Her unexpected drop shot from beyond the baseline, and behind the doubles alley, gave her a love/30 edge. Sabalenka sent a backhand long to go down love/40. She threatened to get the hold, saving Anisimova's first two MP, but the Bannerette's deep forehand winner put away her third, ending a 6-4/4-6/6-4 contest that sent her into her maiden major final as the fourth different U.S. woman to reach the final at the last four slams..


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4. Berlin Final - Marketa Vondrousova def. Wang Xinyu
...7-6(10)/4-6/6-2. The battle between the player in the draw via a protected ranking who came to Berlin just wanting to win *one* match and the qualifier who almost retired from her first match in the event last weekend.

Wang had chances to make her maiden final appearance potentially even sweeter, as she led the 1st 5-3, twice served for the set, and held a 6-2 edge in the TB. She had six SP in all before Vondrousova converted on her third to win the 12-10 breaker.

Vondrousova ultimately won in three to take her first title since Wimbledon in 2023 *and* become the first Czech woman to win a WTA singles title in 2025.
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5. London 2nd Rd. - Emma Navarro def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...1-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Over the past two months, Navarro and Haddad Maia have engaged in a trilogy of very different encounters.

In Stuttgart, Navarro won handily by a 3 & love score. Haddad Maia got her revenge in Strasbourg, turning away the Bannerette, who'd served for the match in the 2nd set. In Part III, the Brazilian held a MP on return at 5-4 in the 2nd before Navarro forced and won a TB to level the match, then put Haddad Maia away in the decider.


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6. Nottingham 2nd Rd. - Katie Boulter def. Sonay Kartal
...6-4/1-6/7-5. The Battle of Nottingham.

Two-time defending champ Boulter found herself down 4-2 in the 3rd in this clash of the #2 (#39 Boulter) and #3 (#50 Kartal) ranked Brits on tour, but fought back to hold two MP at 5-4. Kartal saved them both, but couldn't stave off a third as Boulter got the break two games later on MP #3 to end the contest, collecting her 12th straight win in the event.


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7. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Varvara Gracheva
...6-3/6-7(5)/7-6(10-8). Hey, sometimes "drama" is messy.

Qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich surved a 3:24 contest with Varvara Gracheva, a match which included 21 breaks of serve on 50 BP chances and saw MP held by both women, by a 6-3/6-7(5)/7-6(10-8) score.

The Belarusian veteran had led 6-3/5-3, and held a MP at 5-4 on return, then served for the win at 6-5. After the Pastry forced a TB, Sasnovich led it 4-2 only to see Gracheva rally to win five of the last six points to force a 3rd set.

The first six games of the decider included breaks of serve, and it was then Gracheva's turn to reach MP at 5-4 in her own service game. Things went to a deciding MTB, where Sasnovich led 6-3, but saw Gracheva push back (but never edge ahead) in the closing moments, getting to 8-8 before Sasnovich converted on her second MP.


===============================================
7. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Madison Keys def. Gabriela Ruse
...6-7(4)/7-5/7-5. While others would soon fall, #6-seeded Keys was the first top seed to see her SW19 life flash before her eyes, undertaking a ridiculously difficult three-setter vs. Ruse, who came in 0-4 in her Wimbledon MD career. Of course, the Romanian has a history of bad SW19 draws, too.

In 2018, she faced off with Aga Radwanska in the 1st Round (losing a 7-5 3rd set), and in 2019 it was a seeded Julia Georges. Three years later in '22, she had to face Coco Gauff (another 7-5 3rd), and last year it was Elena Rybakina. So, hey, what's a reigning AO champion, right? Unfortunately, Ruse also has a history of rarely being 100% physically, and that was again the case today. She still put up a fight.



A few seasons ago, Keys would have likely let this one slip away. But "new Maddi," the type who wins the AO, didn't here. Still, after forcing a TB after having trailed 5-3 in the 1st, Keys still found herself having to stage a comeback from a set down.

In the 3rd, Keys led 5-3 and served for the win at 5-4, only to see Ruse find four BP opportunities before Keys finally ran up too quickly on a short ball and when putting it away ran right into the net, giving the Romanian the point and tying the score at 5-5. But Keys immediately got the break back and then served out the win.


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*REAL PLAYERS OF THE WTA TOUR: Grass Court Edition*



Bad Homburg 1st Rd. - Maria Sakkari def. Yulia Putintseva
...7-5/7-6(6). I found it interesting that while Sakkari told Putintseva "nobody likes you," afterward she still managed to say that she "respects (her) as a player." Hmmm. IYKYK.



Of course, I'm not sure Sakkari qualifies as the Great Arbiter of Tennis Etiquette that she thinks she is, though. At least she didn't say that Putintseva should be banned from the sport. (See Toth, IYKYK.) Or complain to chair umpire for an opponant yelling "in her direction" after winning a point when she often -- or, you know, did when she won more points -- does the same. (See vs. Shnaider AO23, also IYKYK.)




Of course, Putintseva didn't remain silent (would you expect anything less?)...




Personally, while I'm not a particular fan of Putintseva, at least not when it comes to some of her actions on the court, I'm always a situational supporter of a player who gets "called out" for their behavior by (at worst) a hypocrite, or at least (at best) someone oblivious to their own oft-questionable behavior.




*THIS ONE IS OVER... no, wait... ALL RIGHT, *NOW* IT'S OVER*

Wimbledon QF - Amanda Anisimova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...6-1/7-6(9). The contest between #13 Anisimova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova saw Anisimova win the 1st set 6-1, then lead the 2nd at 5-2. Done, and done... right? Nope. Then the *rest* of the set happened.



Anisimova served for the match at 5-3, then held two MP at 5-4, 15/40 up on Pavlyuchenkova's serve. Pavlyuchenkova got the hold, then forced a TB, taking a 6-3 lead. Ultimately, the veteran Hordette had five SP in the breaker, but Anisimova surged back and reached MP #3 at 9-8. She sprayed a forehand return, but got a second chance (well, fourth) and finally prevailed 11-9 to reach her maiden Wimbledon SF, her first at a major since the 2019 Roland Garros, which by now feels like a lifetime ago. And considering all the Anisimova has lived through since then, it kinda is.






*YOU... AGAIN?*

Wimbledon WC QF - Li Xiaohui def. Diede de Groot
...7-6(6)/6-4. In the wheelchair QF, well, it happened again. No, not the casual disregarding of the greatness of Diede de Groot, who is not just the "2023 champion," as the Wimbledon social media pointed out, but also the 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024 winner and four-time defending champ, I mean another nightmarish meeting for de Groot with her personal Freddy Krueger (no relation to Ashlyn Krueger, of course)...



After ending de Groot's 145-match overall winning streak last year, and 52-match run in majors at this year's RG, Li Xiaohui ended the former #1's 14-match, four-event run as the All-England Club's champion.

De Groot still has her 20-match, six-title streak going at Flushing Meadows. We'll see what happens there later this summer, after de Groot has more than a month of additional time to recover from her hip surgery from last year.




*AND THEN THERE WAS PETRA...*



Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Emma Navarro def. Petra Kvitova
...6-3/6-1. A recent new mother, Petra Kvitova returned to the tour earlier this season after having a baby, and just a short while ago announced that she'll end her career later this season, likely at the U.S. Open. So that meant that her wild card berth into this tournament was more than likely a parting farewell gift from the AELTC to a player who reached her career apex at Wimbledon, winning a pair of titles in 2011 and 2014, often leaving spectators as in awe of the grass court game as they would also be by her winning personility off it.

Facing off with #10 Emma Navarro, a quarterfinalist a year ago, seemed like it would go nearly all of Kvitova's matches have gone in 2025 (she came in with a 1-6 record). But when she took a 3-1 lead in the 1st, hope suddenly seemed eternal. It wasn't, though. Navarro won handily, 6-3/6-1.

The final moments simply set the stage for the goodbye to a great champion that always comes, be they big or small. Eventually.



==PETRA'S GREATEST MOMENTS (ON BACKSPIN)...==
"The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship" (Petra's 2011 Wimbledon title)
"Petra, Take 2" (Her second title in 2014)










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1. Rosmalen SF - Elise Mertens def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...2-6/7-6(7)/6-4. Alexandrova is a two-time Rosmalen champion (2022-23), but she still couldn't put away Mertens with a third 's-Hertogenbosch final appearance on her racket.

The Russian led 6-2/5-3, and had five MP on serve at 5-4, then five more on serve at 6-5. MP #11 came in the 2nd set TB. But Mertens saved all eleven (ten via Alexandrova errors), then erased a break deficit at 4-3 in the 3rd as she swept the final three games en route to what would be her tenth career WTA title.


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2. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Harriet Dart
...6-3/6-7(4)/7-5. Finally, the reigning Wimbledon champ gets her first grass court win since taking the title on Centre Court last summer.

Krejcikova trailed Dart 5-3 in the 3rd, and was down double MP at 5-4, 40/15.


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3. Eastbourne 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Jodie Burrage
...4-6/6-4/7-6(3). After saving two MP in the 1st Round vs. Dart, Krejcikova lost a 6-4/3-1 lead vs. another Brit in the 2nd. For the second straight round Krejcikova saved MP, this time *three* of them at 6-5 in the final set vs. Burrage, and finished strong by taking a 7-3 TB to earn her first consecutive wins since the WTA Finals.


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4. Berlin QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Elena Rybakina
...7-6(6)/3-6/7-6(6). Sabalenka may have lost some of the biggest finals she's played in 2025, but the world #1 has consistently been more dialed-in on getting a "W" than any player on tour this season.

After so many potential three-setters have became two-set wins when Sabalenka has raised her game on the most important points, in this case a would-be loss turned into a win for the same reason.

First, Sabalenka had to rally from 4-2 down to claim the 1st, winning an 8-6 TB. Then, after Rybakina denied the Belarusian when she served for the win at 5-4 in the 3rd, Sabalenka staged another comeback after going down quadruple MP at 6-2 in the deciding tie-break. Four straight MP later, it was Sabalenka with the match on her racket. She ultimately swept the final six points to get another 8-6 victory.


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5. Wimbledon Q3 - Priscilla Hon def. Victoria Mboko
...4-6/7-6(4)/6-1. Mboko had a MD spot on her racket, leading love/40 at at 6-5 in the 2nd on Hon's serve, holding five MP in all before the 27-year old Aussie won to make her own Wimbledon MD debut. Hon's last major MD appearance was at the 2020 AO.



Mboko made the MD as a LL, and got a 1st Round win.
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6. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Viktoriya Tomova
...6-1/6-7(5)/7-6(7). Pavlyuchenkova climbed out of a 4-2 2nd set hole to reach MP, but Tomova forced a 3rd. It was the Bulgarian who had then had a handful of opportunities, with a first MP at 5-4, then *quintuple* MP (that's five straight, dontcha know) after going up 6-1 in the deciding TB.

Pavlyuchenkova won 9-7 on her third overall MP on the day.



Pavlyuchenkova ultimately reached the SF, her first on tour since consecutive final four runs in Doha and Linz in February 2024.
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7. Berlin 2nd Rd. - Liudmila Samsonova def. Jessie Pegula
...6-7(8)/7-5/7-6(5). A week after being one-and-outed by Carson Branstine as the defending champ at Rosmalen, Samsonova flips the script and delivers Berlin DC Pegula her walking papers in *her* opening match.

Pegula had rallied from 5-3 down in the 1st, saving five SP, to take the opener, then erased a 4-2 Samsonova edge in the 3rd to have a pair of MP at 5-4. But the Hordette forced a deciding TB and won it in 3:21.


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8. Bad Homburg SF - Jessie Pegula def. Linda Noskova
...6-7(2)/7-5/6-1. Noskova rallied from 3-1 down to take the opening set, but couldn't put Pegula away after leading 7-6/5-3 and serving for the match at 5-4.

The Czech's loss prevented an eighth meeting with Iga Swiatek, which would have been their third this year on a third different surface.


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9. Wimbledon Q2 - Anastasia Zakharova def. Ana Bogdan 6-7(1)/7-6(1)/6-3
Wimbledon Q3 - Anastasia Zakharova def. Tereza Valentova 7-6(1)/2-7/7-6(10-7)
...Zakharova's three three-set wins included these two doozies.

Bogdan had overcame a 5-3 1st deficit to win via a TB, and served for the match at 5-3 in the 2nd before the Hordette dominated the second TB and won 6-3 in the 3rd. In the final Q-round, 18-year old Valentova seemed on her way to qualifying at a second straight slam, as the Czech led 5-1 in the 3rd, serving at 5-2 and 5-4, before Zakharova rallied again and won a 10-7 MTB.


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10. Wimbledon Q1 - Petra Martic def. Maddison Inglis
...6-2/3-6/7-6(12-10). Martic's eventually successful Q-run opened with her winning a back-and-forth battle with the Aussie, who led 4-2 in the 3rd and held a pair of MP at 5-4. In the deciding MTB, Martic took a 5-2 lead, but saw Inglis have a third MP chance at 9-8 before the Croatian finally converted on her own second MP.
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1. Rosmalen 1st Rd. - Carson Branstine def. Liudmila Samsonova
...6-4/5-7/6-1. Defending champ and #1 seed Samsonova goes out in the opening round at the hands of #231-ranked Branstine, the former junior and college star who has battled through years of injuries to finally make her tour-level MD debut with this match.



Branstine went on to qualify for her maiden slam MD at Wimbledon.
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2. Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. Jessie Pegula 6-2/6-3
Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Dayana Yastremska def. Coco Gauff 7-6(3)/6-1
...normally, on Day 2 of a major it would be big news that the #5 seed (Zheng Qinwen) had been sent pakcing. But at this Wimbledon that exit wasn't even in the top *two* highest-seedede women to go during the day, as both #2 Gauff and #3 Pegula were sent out within hours of each other, marking the first time that two of the top three women's seeds have lost in the 1st Round of a major in the Open era.

Pegula was the first to go, ousted by Italy's Cocciaretto.



Two years ago, Pegula defeated Cocciaretto 6-4/6-0 in the Wimbledon 3rd Round, but while the Bannerette has gone on to win a pair of grass court titles since then (including this year in Bad Homburg), the Italian has also showed still more grass court ability. She reached the Birmingham SF last year, and the final four at Rosmalen in '25.

The results ended Pegula's streak of seventeen consecutive 1st Round wins in majors.

Later, Gauff's memorable slam debut at Wimbledon of 2019 (at age 15, she defeated Venus Williams in the 1st Round, then reached the Round of 16) got just a little big more lost in the memory bank, as the two-time slam champ (including at this year's RG) was taken down by Yastremska, a former major semifinalist (AO24) and proficient grass court player. The Ukrainian reached the SW19 junior final in 2016, the Wimbledon 4th Round in 2019 and arrived having just reached a final in Nottingham and the Eastbourne QF.



This is Gauff's second 1st Round loss at Wimbledon in three years. The last time in happened, in 2023, she had her Summer of Coco run and won the U.S. Open.
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3. Wimbledon 2nd Rd. - Solana Sierra def. Katie Boulter
...6-7(7)/6-2/6-1. One of two lucky losers (w/ Victoria Mboko) to post 1st Round wins at this year's Wimbledon, Sierra followed up with an even bigger victory over Boulter, knocking off the Brit to reach her maiden slam 3rd Round. Just the second LL (w/ Lauren Davis '19) to reach the Wimbledon 3rd since 1974 (and that was w/ a 1st Round bye), the Argentina ultimately became the firt over reach the 4th Round.


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4. Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Laura Siegemund def. Madison Keys
...6-3/6-3. #6-seeded Keys' rocky grass court season finally came to an end vs. Siegemund.

Keys came into Wimbledon having gone 2-2 in warm-up events, losing to Tatjana Maria at Queen's Club and Marketa Vondrousova in Berlin. Both went on to win the titles in the event. At SW19, she barely escaped the early-round hunting of the seeds, edging by Gabriela Ruse before her surprising quick dispatching of Olga Danilovic in the 2nd Round. Such wasn't the case against Siegemund, yet another 37-year old German (like Maria) whose unorthodox game (in 2025) is perfectly tuned to vex players not accustomed to foes who don't go about straightforwardly retrieving-and-returning and/or smashing the ball back over the net.

Not being able to generate much pace off of Siegemund's shots, Keys was at the mercy of her fate, which wasn't good. She fell in straights to become the sixth Top 10 seed to exit in the opening week, as well as the second of 2025's two previous major champions.



The win gives Siegemund her second victory over a Top 10 player at a major this year, having knocked off Zheng Qinwen in Melbourne back in January. She had zero before this year. It makes '25 the German's first multi-Top 10 win campaign since 2017. Siegemund didn't make her slam MD debut until age 27 at Wimbledon in 2015.

With a 4th Round win over Solana Sierra, Siegemund became the oldest first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist. In that QF, she led Aryna Sabalenka twice by a break in the 3rd, and had a GP for a 5-3 lead, before falling to the #1 seed.
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5. Nottingham 1st Rd. - Mimi Xu def. Katie Volynets
...6-3/6-3. This summer, 17-year old Brit Xu reached back-to-back QF in the Nottingham $35K (hard court) and the Birmingham 125 (on grass, in her 125 MD debut), then posted a win in the Ilkey 125 (grass), as well.

Here, via a wild card, the world #350 (ex-jr. #8) made her tour-level MD debut, getting a Top 100 win over Katie Volynets before falling in the 2nd vs. Magda Linette.



Xu went on to make her major women's MD debut at Wimbledon via another wild card (losing to Emma Raducanu), *and* reached the junior SF (getting a QF win over #3-seeded RG girls' champ Lilli Tagger).
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And the ending to the Wimbledon rom-com that just *had* to happen...




All for now.



posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:37 PM 

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