Monday, July 06, 2026

W.8- Czech, Please?














=DAY 8 NOTES=
...there was no racing against the clock on the second day of Round of 16 play, though the image of Coco Gauff's ability to get her win in under the wire on Sunday will live forever.



Of the four women's matches today, only one went three sets, and experience -- save for one match (not the same one) -- generally prevailed on the day. (And, in an odd occurrence, seven of the nine sets played ended with 6-4 scores.)

First up was #12 Marta Kostyuk, a non-factor in the grass court lead-up events since she didn't play in any. After back-to-back three-setters vs. Anna Blinkova and Emma Navarro, though, the Ukrainian showed that her clay court momentum (and RG semifinal form) could carry over through what might inevitably be several summertime runs, as well.

With 3rd Round finishes at SW19 in 2023 and '24, Kostyuk arrived on the day having already posted her best result in the event, completing her career set of Round of 16 runs at all four majors. Today against qualifier and first-time major second week participant Ashlyn Krueger, quite the opposite of Kostyuk in that she came in having been quite busy this grass season (going 16-1 after her three Wimbledon MD wins), Kostyuk took the opening set but saw Krueger grab a 4-2 lead in the 2nd.

But once Kostyuk put a bit of pressure on Krueger, the Bannerette went away fairly quickly. Kostyuk swept the final four games to reach the QF at her second straight major with a 6-4/6-4 victory. She's reached the stage at three different events now, after the AO in '24 and RG last month. She came up a round short at last year's U.S. Open, losing in the 4th Round.



Of course, now that Kostyuk is back into the flow of playing matches, here's where we're reminded that she's actually gone 20-1 in her last 21 matches.



...after posting her biggest career win over #2 Elena Rybakina one round ago, veteran Waffle Elise Mertens didn't just go quietly into the good night today. Nope, instead the #25 seed went out and took down a Czech -- #21 Marie Bouzkova, a title winner in Nottingham a few weeks ago -- to reach her first slam QF in nearly six years.

Bouzkova had taken an early break lead in the 1st, but then lost her serve in three of her final four service games. In the 2nd, it was Mertens who grabbed the early lead. Serving at 5-4, the Belgian got a little good fortune, as well, as in a single rally on MP she had *two* net cords bounce in her favor as she finished off a 6-4/6-4 win.



This is Mertens' fourth career major QF, but her first since back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2019-20. Before today, she'd gone 0-9 in 4th Round matches in slam play since.

...#29 Alex Eala was one of the stars of the opening week of the fortnight, but Jasmine Paolini knows the deal with that. Two years ago, it was the Italian (w/ an extra decade of time on tour under her belt) who was the sudden new star at not just one, but two, majors as she made unexpected runs to finals in both Paris and London.

A foot injury and overall inconsistency, as well as a lack of confidence-building doubles results, has pulled Paolini back all season long, dropping her nearly out of the Top 20 and forcing her '26 record to bob above, at and below .500 on a weekly basis. But she's seemed to have turned a corner at Wimbledon, with her three wins the most she's had in succession since last fall. Her resurgence has often left her emotional at times during this run as she's started to right her wayward season ship.

Back on Centre Court, Paolini played like the experienced veteran she's become. She jumped to an early lead on the Filipina in the 1st, going up 3-1. After saving a BP and holding for 5-2, Paolini served for the set at 5-3. Eala managed to get the break on her third BP (w/ a Paolini forehand error), but then couldn't back it up as Paolini immediately broke back to take the set 6-4.

But Eala is here for a reason, and she bounced back in the 2nd. She quickly gave away an early break lead, but then upped the pressure on the Italian with consistently deep groundstrokes and got her break lead back at 4-3. She then held from 15/40 down to take a 5-3 lead. Two games later, Eala served out the set at 6-4 and seemed ready to push through to yet another career-first.



The two played a tight 3rd. Paolini recovered from love/30 to hold for a 3-2 lead, even while beginning to stretch and fiddle with the foot that gave her problems earlier in the year (Eala, for her part, was already playing with a big wrap on her right thigh, and during the match was seen occasionally flexing and stretching her left leg, as well).

In game 8, Paolini netted a second serve return on a BP, but on her second chance saw an Eala backhand fly long to give the Italian the necessary break advantage. Serving at 5-3, Paolini fell behind love/30, but seized upon a handful of loose errors from Eala, getting the hold to complete the 6-4/4-6/6-3 victory and reach her third career major QF (and second in the last three Wimbledons).



Afterward, Paolini's past good vibes and smiles graced Centre Court once more, as she pointed out the rather conspicuous presence of a certain eight-time Wimbledon champion from Switzerland from the Royal Box.



...for decades, Czechs have always had a special connection to Wimbledon. The relationship continues, as they've won two of the last three titles at SW19 (and neither of those champions were named Kvitova, either).

On Monday, #9 Linda Noskova added her name to the growing list of her countrywomen with an affinity for the lawns of the AELTC as the Berlin champ played her way into her maiden Wimbledon QF with a surprisingly routine win over #26 Madison Keys, the reigning Eastbourne winner.

Keys was seemingly rolling along in the 1st set, firing off eight aces, but her inability to get to Noskova's serve proved to be her undoing. One wayward half-game late in the order tripped her up, and she never really recovered. In game 10, Noskova rallied from 40/love to reel off five straight points and secure the only break of the set. It just so happened that it occurred when she was leading 5-4, so the set was suddenly hers and Keys was left holding an empty bag.

Noskova broke Keys from 15/40 down in game 2 of the 2nd set, firing a forehand into the corner off a scrambling Keys' outstretched racket to lead 2-0. She held for 3-0, and seemed ready to coast to victory. But Noskova suddenly fell behind 15/40 at 3-1, a game in which she had four DF alone after giving no indication of nerves prior to that moment. She saved three BP, but DF #4 came on Keys' fourth BP, getting the Bannerette veteran back on serve in the set at 3-2.

Noskova didn't let her one bad service game start a trend, though, forcing Keys to make the move if things were going to go three. At 5-6 down, Keys saw back-to-back net cords go her way at 30/30, giving her a GP rather than facing a MP. She got the hold to force a TB, but came up totally flat once it began.

Keys' early DF handed the Czech the second of two points on her serve in the early going, giving Noskova a 3-0 lead. She pushed it to 4-0 before a pair of Noskova backhand errors kept Keys' hopes alive, but only barely. And only briefly, too. Another Keys DF made the score 5-2, and Noskova took the gift and finished off the party, winning both of her service points to win 7-2 and advance with a 6-4/7-6(2) victory.



Noskova is one of two Czechs still alive in the QF, marking the first time we've had an actual "Crush of Czechs" sighting (you *only* need two to form a group, you know) at this stage at SW19 since 2021.

With the losses by Keys and Bouzkova, four of the six pre-Wimbledon title winners have now been eliminated. The remaining two? Why, Noskova and her fellow Czech Crusher Karolina Muchova, of course.

...meanwhile, there were some big knock-outs in the 2nd Round of junior action today, as AO girls' champ and #2 seed Ksenia Efremova fell to Bannerette Chukwumelije Clarke, #4 Victoria Luiza Barros was taken out by Romania's Maia Ilinca Burcescu, and #12 Mika Stojsavljevic, the '24 U.S. Open junior champ who has played in the women's MD at the last two Wimbledons, fell to Austrian qualifier Anna Pircher.

Still alive in the draw: #1 Sun Xinran and #3 Jana Kovackova.







*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#14 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. #10 Karolina Muchova/CZE
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #7 Coco Gauff/USA
#12 Marta Kostyuk/UKR vs. #13 Jasmine Paolini/ITA
#9 Linda Noskova/CZE vs. #25 Elise Mertens/BEL

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #16 Muhammad/Stollar (USA/HUN)
#10 Guo/Mladenovic (CHN/FRA) def. Detiuc/Khromacheva (CZE/RUS)
(PR) Neel/Olmos (EST/MEX) def. #3 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB)
Jiang X./Xu Y. (CHN/CHN) def. #7 Siegemund/Zvonareva (GER/RUS)
#9 Perez/Schuurs (AUS/NED) w/o Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU)
#13 Aoyama/Liang (JPN/TPE) def. Hsieh/Wang Xin. (TPE/CHN)
Noskova/Sramkova (CZE/SVK) vs. Piter/Siskova (POL/CZE)
#14 Hunter/McNally (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Stefani (CAN/BRA)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Hunter/Polmans (AUS/AUS) def. Sutjiadi/Andreozzi (INA/ARG)
Stollar/Pavic (HUN/CRO) def. #6 Krawczyk/Skupski (USA/GBR)
#3 Zhang S./Harrison (CHN/USA) def. Fernandez/Salisbury (CAN/GBR)
#2 Ostapenko/Arevalo (LAT/ELS) def. Siegemund/Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA)

*GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Sun Xinran/CHN vs. Thea Frodin/USA
(Q) Anna Pircher/AUT vs. (WC) Daniella Britton/GBR
#3 Jana Kovackova/CZE vs. Emily Victoria Eigelsbach/GER
#10 Charo Esquiva Banuls/ESP vs. Janae Preston/USA
#7 Mariia Makarova/RUS vs. Shao Yushan/CHN
#15 Polina Skliar/UKR vs. Maia Ilinca Burcescu/ROU
Qu Yihan/CHN vs. #9 Mariella Thamm/GER
#14 Anna Pushkareva/RUS vs. Chukwumelije Clarke/USA









...THE EALA CENTRE COURT EMBARCATION (for now)... ON DAY 8:




...I KNOW THAT DUDE!... ON DAY 8:






...THE U.S. TENNIS MEDIA MAKES SUCH AN OVERLY BIG DEAL OF U.S.-vs.-U.S. MATCH-UPS IN TENNIS... ON DAY 8:



Meanwhile, in literally *every* other sport it's a common, everyday occurrence that no one even brings up. And I'm not even just talking about team sports/leagues, but in international/mixed nation sports like track & field, golf, auto racing, etc.

Doesn't really make a whole lot of sense in 2026.


...MEANWHILE, CONSPICUOUS IN THEIR LACK OF NOTING THE DATE: Wimbledon and WTA, of course... ON DAY 8:























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kosova-font

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "COMEBACK" WINNERS*
2018 Serena Williams, USA
2019 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (MX)
2021 Angelique Kerber, GER
2022 Simona Halep, ROU
2023 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2024 Paula Badosa, ESP
2025 Amanda Anisimova, USA
2026 Jasmine Paolini, ITA

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK & Aga Radwanska/POL
2017 Arina Rodionova, AUS
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2021 Kristie Ahn, USA
2022 Elise Mertens, BEL
2023 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2024 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2025 Solana Sierra, ARG (LL)
2026 Linda Noskova, CZE



*2026 WI FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
11 - Coco Gauff
10 - Jessie Pegula
8 - Karolina Muchova
6 - Naomi Osaka
4 - Elise Mertens
3 - Marta Kostyuk
3 - Jasmine Paolini
2 - Linda Noskova

[by career WI QF]
3 - Muchova
2 - Paolini
2 - Pegula
1 - Gauff, Kostyuk, Mertens, Noskova, Osaka

[w/ consecutive slam QF]
2 - Kostyuk

[w/ consecutive WI QF]
none

[2026 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - none
RG - Chwalinska (Q)
WI - none

[2026 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Iva Jovic (6th MD)
RG - Maja Chwalinska (3rd MD)
RG - Diana Shnaider (12th MD)
WI - none

[2026 multiple slam QF]
2 - Gauff (AO/WI)
2 - Kostyuk (RG/WI)
2 - Pegula (AO/WI)
2 - Sabalenka (AO/RG)
2 - Svitolina (AO/RG)

[2026 slam QF - by nation]
6...USA (4/0/2--) - Gauff,Pegula
4...UKR (1/2/1--) - Kostyuk
3...RUS (0/3/0--)
2...BLR (1/1/0--)
2...CZE (0/0/2..) - Muchova,Noskova
2...POL (1/1/0--)
1...BEL (0/0/1--) - Mertens
1...ITA (0/0/1--) - Paolini
1...JPN (0/0/1--) - Osaka
1...KAZ (1/0/0--)
1...ROU (0/1/0--)

[WTA career slam QF - active]
54...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
18...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
15...Elina Svitolina, UKR
14...Iga Swiatek, POL
12...Madison Keys, USA
11...Coco Gauff, USA
11...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
10...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
10...Jessie Pegula, USA
8...Karolina Muchova, CZE
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Ons Jabeur, TUN
7...Elena Rybakina, KAZ
7...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
6...Naomi Osaka, JPN
6...Alona Ostapenko, LAT
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020s - 26 events]
16 - Sabalenka (13-2+W)
14 - Swiatek (9-5)
11 - Gauff (5-5)*
10 - Pegula (3-6)*
9 - Svitolina (2-7)
7 - Jabeur (3-4)
7 - Muchova (4-2)*
7 - Rybakina (4-3)
6 - Krejcikova (2-4)
5 - Keys (3-2)
5 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-4)
4 - M.Andreeva (2-2)
4 - Anisimova (2-2)
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Osaka (3-0)*
4 - Ka.Pliskova (1-3)
4 - Vondrousova (1-2+L)
4 - Zheng Q. (1-3)
3 - Badosa (1-2)
3 - Halep (2-1)
3 - Kostyuk (1-1)*
3 - Navarro (1-2)
3 - Ostapenko (0-3)
3 - Paolini (2-0)*
3 - Tomljanovic (0-3)
2 - Azarenka (2-0)
2 - Bencic (1-1)
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Cirstea (0-2)
2 - Collins (1-1)
2 - Fernandez (1-1)
2 - Haddad Maia (1-1)
2 - Kalinskaya (0-2)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Mertens (0-1)*
2 - Noskova (0-1)*
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Siegemund (0-2)
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - Vekic (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Boisson (1-0)
1 - Bouzkova (0-1)
1 - Chwalinska (1-0)
1 - Cornet (0-1)
1 - Garcia (1-0)
1 - Golubic (0-1)
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Jovic (0-1)
1 - Kanepi (0-1)
1 - Kasatkina (1-0)
1 - Kerber (1-0)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - V.Kudermetova (0-1)
1 - Linette (1-0)
1 - Maria (1-0)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Niemeier (0-1)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Raducanu (1-0)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Samsonova (0-1)
1 - Shnaider (1-0)
1 - Stephens (0-1)
1 - Sun (0-1)
1 - Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)

[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020s - 26 slams/208]
44 - USA (Gauff,Pegula)
26 - CZE (Muchova,Noskova)
18 - BLR
16 - POL
15 - RUS
13 - UKR (Kostyuk)
8 - KAZ
7 - AUS
7 - TUN
5 - GER
5 - ITA (Paolini)
5 - ROU
4 - CHN
4 - ESP
3 - FRA
3 - JPN (Osaka)
3 - LAT
3 - SUI
2 - BEL (Mertens)
2 - BRA
2 - CAN
2 - CRO
2 - EST
2 - GRE
1 - ARG,BUL,GBR,NZL,SLO,TPE

[WTA slam QF W/L by nation in 2020s]
44 - USA (21-21)**
26 - CZE (9-14+L)**
18 - BLR (15-2+W)
16 - POL (11-5)
15 - RUS (5-10)
13 - UKR (4-8)*
8 - KAZ (4-4)
7 - AUS (3-4)
7 - TUN (3-4)
5 - GER (2-3)
5 - ITA (3-1)*
5 - ROU (2-3)
4 - CHN (1-3)
4 - ESP (2-2)
4 - JPN (3-0)*
3 - FRA (2-1)
3 - SUI (1-2)
3 - LAT (0-3)
2 - BEL (0-1)*
2 - BRA (1-1)
2 - CAN (1-1)
2 - CRO (1-1)
2 - EST (0-2)
2 - GRE (2-0)
1 - ARG (1-0)
1 - BUL (0-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - NZL (0-1)
1 - SLO (1-0)
1 - TPE (0-1)





kosova-font









TOP QUALIFIER: Robin Montgomery/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (two straight sets wins; extends slam TB win streak to 21)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Anastasia Gasanova/RUS def. Varvara Lepchenko/USA 2-6/6-1/7-6(12-10) - Lepchenko led 5-3 in the 3rd, twice served for the match, led 5-1 in MTB and at 9-6 held four MP over a 5-point stretch. Gasanova wins 12-10.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Maya Joint/AUS def. Serena Williams/USA 6-3/6-7(6)/6-3 - 20-year old Aussie, 1-13 in her last 14 matches, defeats returning 44-year old Williams in her first singles match since 2022
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI (def. Stojsavljevic/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Maja Chwalinska/POL (1st Rd. - hurt ankle/foot on MP up 6-2/5-2 vs. Sawangkaew/THA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Anastasia Gasanova/RUS (2nd MD), Tyra Grant/ITA (1st MD), Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA (2nd MD), Lanlada Tararudee/THA (2nd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: Southeast Asians
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GBR (1-7 1st Rd., after 0/7 through qualfiying; Kartal DNP, Raducanu w/d and started 0-7 in MD play)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Ashlyn Krueger/USA (4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Karolina Pliskova/CZE, Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP (both 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: Darja Semenistaja/LAT(L)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "Filipina": Alex Eala/PHI (first PHI to slam Round of 16)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Jasmine Paolini/ITA
CRASH & BURN: #2 Elena Rybakina/KAZ, #3 Iga Swiatek/POL and #6 Amanda Anisimova/USA ('22 champ and both '25 finalists lose in 3rd Round on middle Saturday)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Linda Noskova/CZE (3r- saved MP vs. Cirstea)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
LAWN COURT ROLLER: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Maja Chwalinska/POL (devastating loss in 1st Rd. after having MP at 6-2/5-2 before fall injuries ankle); Additional nominees: Muchova, Noskova, Bouzkova








All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:30 PM  0 comments

Sunday, July 05, 2026

W.7- Last Eight Dates














=DAY 7 NOTES=
...on a day at the end of which she'd be the highest seed remaining in the women's draw, #4 Jessie Pegula was put to an early test by #16 Iva Jovic in their Round of 16 face-off on Sunday, as the 18-year old opened the match by claiming the very first set lost by Pegula at this Wimbledon.

The 1st set was a literal break-fest, as the two combined for four consecutive breaks of serve from games 2-through-5, then closed it out with three more from games 8-through-10. Pegula held just once in her five service games, but quickly turned her fortunes around in the 2nd, going out to a quick double-break lead at 4-1.

Jovic cut that lead in half, but Pegula eventually broke her fellow Bannerette to close out the set. She then assumed control of the 3rd, again taking a 4-1 lead (but w/ only a single break advantage), and closed out a 4-6/6-3/6-1 come from behind win to reach her tenth career slam QF, and her second at Wimbledon (w/ '23).



After going 0-6 in her first half dozen slam QF appearances, Pegula has gone 3-0 in last three attempts (at the 2024-25 U.S., and AO26).

...meanwhile, in a battle of Czechs, #10 Karolina Muchova was doing Karolina Muchova things.



Muchova's Wimbledon career began with great promise, with QF finishes in her first two appearances in 2019 and '21. But since then, as has often been the case over the years, Muchova's continual stream of injuries, or comebacks from injuries, or limited ability to play at 100% due to lingering injuries (you know, all that) held her back at SW19 just like it has when it's come to her piling result upon result over the course of a long season and benefitting from such momentum and any resulting draw placement. Muchova played at SW19 the last four years, but rarely without something holding her back, choosing to throw her proverbial hat into the ring but coming up short in the 1st Round all four times.

But 2026 has been different, as the Czech has been able to stay on tour all season long, producing between the lines and then coming back to do it again and again soon afterward, and right on schedule.

In January, she reached her first AO second week since her 2021 SF, then soon after won her maiden 1000 title in Doha (her first tour title of any kind since '19), and played in her first Sunshine Double SF (at Miami). She's racked up five Top 10 wins (more than in 2024-25 combined) and returned to the Top 10 for the first time since 2024. As the season's third major rolled around, Muchova had already played in three finals (more than in any other season, doing it in just the first half of '26) on three different surfaces.

Playing in the 4th Round today against countrywoman Barbora Krejcikova, the last remaining former Wimbledon champion in the women's draw, Muchova faced an opponent who employs many of the same point contructing tactics that she does, only with greater efficiency and far less of Muchova's unique (and sometimes magical) flair.

The two found themselves in a stalemate late in the 1st, having combined to go 0-for-5 on BP opportunities while holding serve in the first eleven games. But Muchova finally cracked the code in game 12, breaking to claim a 7-5 set and then also getting the maiden break of serve in the 2nd set in game 6 (on BP #4) to take a 4-2 lead. She led 5-2, and served for the win at 5-3. But it was then when Muchova's game became a bit more tentative, if not shaky, while Krejcikova took advantage of her opponent's touch of nervous tension.

Krejcikova rallied to make a match of things again, breaking Muchova in consecutive games to take a 6-5 lead. With Krejcikova serving for the set, Muchova staved off a pair SP with a scramble and winner off a drop shot, then a spectacular volley. But Krejickova got the hold to send things to a 3rd.

But in the final stanza, Krejcikova's movement was hampered down the stretch, and Muchova again took control. This time she held her ground and finished off the 7-5/5-7/6-3 win to reach her third Wimbledon QF, and eighth of her slam career. She remains in the mix to become the third different Czech winner of this event in the last four years.



Krejcikova's exit means that another first-time Wimbledon champion will claim the crown, with a tenth different winner in the ten years since Serena Williams' last title in 2016. Only Jasmine Paolini remains in the draw as a former SW19 *finalist* (so I guess I'm an Eala 4th Round win away from the "Prop Pick" of the champion being a "first-time Wimbledon finalist" getting the "W").

...in what was sold as the marquee match-up of the day, #14 Naomi Osaka continued to play a pretty fine game of tennis on the grass.



While #1 Aryna Sabalenka didn't collapse in any sort of awkwardly memorable way as she has in recent events, she surely didn't produce the level of play that will anywhere near suit her own assessment of things. Of course, a great deal of that had to do with the clean game of Osaka, who suddenly looks absolutely unbothered by the surface beneath her feet, with her shots flowing on grass just as the bottom of her walk-on kimono attire has elegantly brushed across the blades of grass at the start of each of her matches over the first seven days of play at this Wimbledon.

Osaka took her initial lead with a break of Sabalenka's serve to lead 2-1 in the 1st. After saving a BP in the next game, she coasted to the finish. A double-break lead at 4-1, helped along by too many ill-timed Sabalenka errors, ultimately led to a 1st set win.

In the 2nd, both women minded their own serve. Sabalenka saved a pair of BP at 2-2, but they would be the only BP faced by either woman in the set. For her part, Osaka only saw Sabalenka get to 30 once in any of her six service games as the set headed to a tie-break.

Once there, Sabalenka's usual mastery of the format never showed up. Osaka jumped out to a 4-1 lead by taking back-to-back points on Sabalenka's serve, and never looked back en route to a 7-2 win that ended Sabalenka's Open era record of 21 consecutive tie-breaks won in grand slam play and brings to an end the Belarusian's streak of fourteen straight QF+ finishes in majors.

Osaka took the 6-2/7-6(2) victory to reach her first Wimbledon QF, notching her third career #1 win (first since 2019) and first Top 10 victory on any surface other than hard court. Of her now sixteen career Top 10 wins, this is just Osaka's fourth collected this decade.



Osaka's QF is her first in slam play outside of the AO/US hard courts. In four of her five QF runs in those events, save for last year's U.S. SF, she went on to win the title.

Could she be looked upon as the legitimate SW19 favorite now? Maybe not yet, but for the first time -- ever at this major, really -- you *can* see such a possibility from here.

Meanwhile, the doors at the top of the women's rankings are swinging open *big time* right now. Sabalenka is in a bad mental patch, with her U.S. Open title defense coming up. #2 Rybakina has been "off" since the spring, while #3 Swiatek has been struggling for two years (save for a three-month span last summer which now seems like about five years ago). Meanwhile, #4 Pegula has been (largely) the most consistent player all season, the likes of Gauff finds ways to win when she's not at her best, the schedule's turn to Osaka's *best* surface is right around the corner, and Muchova is still holding together physically and sthreatening a "Peak Muchova" season campaign IN JULY. And I'm only now mentioning the reigning RG champ, Mirra Andreeva.

Summer hard courts are gonna be inter-resting.

...in the final women's Round of 16 match of the day, it turned out to be a race against the clock.

On Court 1, #7 Coco Gauff and #11 Belinda Bencic played a three-setter late into the Wimbledon village evening, with Bencic taking the opening set before Gauff rebounded to push things to a decider. Gauff took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd, saw Bencic knot the score at 2-2, then Coco went up 4-2.

Gauff served at 4-2, with the tournament curfew quickly approaching at the top of the hour as Bencic threatened to break serve, which she did to close to 4-3 with about twelve minutes left before play would be called at the first break in the action at 11 p.m.

Two games later, Gauff served for the match at 5-4, knowing that if she could hold she'd win and head home for the night with a date for her QF two days away. If Bencic broke to knot the set at 5-all, play would be suspended and they'd have to return on Monday to finish this one off. While Gauff seemed super determined in the game, Bencic seemed a tad flustered by the moment. Gauff played right through it, easily holding at 15 to complete the 4-6/6-3/6-4 win.

As the clock stood at about two minutes before 11 p.m., Gauff tapped her wrist and the "invisible watch" there, signaling that she knew the score and the situation, and brought it home just under the wire.



The win sends Gauff into her first Wimbledon QF, finally completing her Career QF Slam in her 28th major draw.

....a round-up of the events outside of SW19:

Junior play has already started at Wimbledon, but the tune-up winner at Roehampton was crowned a few days ago. The honor was claimed by Bannerette Janae Preston, as the 15-year old (girls' #26) claimed her fourth J300 win of the season on a third different surface with a win over China's Yu Jun Lin.



RG doubles champions Jana Kovackova & Katerina Zajickova took the Roehampton doubles, and the Czechs are now at the AELTC with Kovackova looking to potentially become the first player to ever complete a Career Junior Doubles Slam.

If the duo were to take the title in London they'd also become the first team to win RG/WI back-to-back since another Czech twosome, Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova in 2013. Kovackova is looking for her *fourth* straight girls' slam win, having won the US/AO with her sister Alena, and in Paris this spring with Zajickova.

In the Roehampton wheelchair competition, Diede de Groot advanced to the singles final only to retire down 7-5/3-1 vs. Wang Ziying. She also withdrew from the doubles final (w/ Aniek Van Koot) against Wang & Li Xiaohui.

Hopefully it's just a precautionary decision ahead of Wimbledon, as it's worth noting that she lost a set in two of her three pre-final matches (to Jiske Griffioen and Kgothatso Montjane, before def. Van Koot in two), so maybe it was a lingering issue she was playing with that eventually became something that it was smart to push no longer mid-way into the final.

The Wimbledon wheelchair event takes place in week two, where de Groot is scheduled to be the #4 seed (though she's actually back up to #2 in the rankings).







*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#14 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
#10 Karolina Muchova/CZE def. Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA def. #16 Iva Jovic/USA
#7 Coco Gauff/USA def. #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI
(Q) Ashlyn Krueger/USA vs. #12 Marta Kostyuk/UKR
#13 Jasmine Paolini/ITA vs. #29 Alex Eala/PHI
#26 Madison Keys/USA vs. #9 Linda Noskova/CZE
#21 Marie Bouzkova/CZE vs. #25 Elise Mertens/BEL

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #16 Muhammad/Stollar (USA/HUN)
#10 Guo/Mladenovic (CHN/FRA) vs. Detiuc/Khromacheva (CZE/RUS)
#3 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB) vs. (PR) Neel/Olmos (EST/MEX)
Jiang X./Xu Y. (CHN/CHN) vs. #7 Siegemund/Zvonareva (GER/RUS)
Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU) vs. #9 Perez/Schuurs (AUS/NED)
#13 Aoyama/Liang (JPN/TPE) vs. Hsieh/Wang Xin. (TPE/CHN)
Noskova/Sramkova (CZE/SVK) vs. Piter/Siskova (POL/CZE)
#14 Hunter/McNally (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Stefani (CAN/BRA)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Hunter/Polmans (AUS/AUS) vs. Sutjiadi/Andreozzi (INA/ARG)
Stollar/Pavic (HUN/CRO) vs. #6 Krawczyk/Skupski (USA/GBR)
Fernandez/Salisbury (CAN/GBR) vs. #3 Zhang S./Harrison (CHN/USA)
Siegemund/Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA) vs. #2 Ostapenko/Arevalo (LAT/ELS)









...YES, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND... ON DAY 7:

I was almost hoping that the all-Czech match would be on at a time when I couldn't watch it because I hated for one of them to lose, and I was suspicious that the Czech Curse would manifest. It did--Barbora Krejcikova, who has been quite ill lately, struggled with her breathing (also a Czech thing),

— Diane Elayne Dees (@womenwhoserve.bsky.social) July 5, 2026 at 11:35 AM

and was visibly hampered, but she just kept fighting. As for Karolina Muchova, she was her brilliant self, winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Will we ever see Muchova and Krejcikova (and Vondrousova, but that's another matter) fully healthy at the same time? The Czech Curse needs to end. #Wimbledon #WTA

— Diane Elayne Dees (@womenwhoserve.bsky.social) July 5, 2026 at 11:35 AM


While I didn't wish to see either Krejcikova or Muchova lose, this was one of those cases where I was good with *whatever* the final result was, and just hoped that the winner would be left in good enough shape to have a better than average chance to continue with her success at least another round, and maybe a few after that.

Muchova was *probably* the most likely there, considering her full season of work to date, so...


...ANOTHER ANGLE (w/ AN ACTUAL PHOTO, VIDEO AND ART COMPANION) OF THE SCREEN GRAB FROM YESTERDAY... ON DAY 7:























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*2026 WINS OVER #1*
Australian Open F - #5 Rybakina d. Sabalenka (W)
Madrid QF - #32 Baptiste d. Sabalenka
Rome 3rd - #23 Cirstea d. Sabalenka
Roland Garros QF - #23 Shnaider d. Sabalenka
Berlin SF - #4 Pegula d. Sabalenka
Wimbledon 4th - #14 Osaka d. Sabalenka

*"CAREER SLAM" FEATS IN 2020s*
=QF=
2021 WI - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (36th slam MD)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
2023 RG - Ons Jabeur, TUN (24th)
2023 RG - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (21st)
2023 WI - Jessie Pegula, USA (19th)
2023 WI - Iga Swiatek, POL (18th)
2023 US - Karolina Muchova, CZE (19th)
2023 US - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (31st)
2024 WI - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (18th)
2026 AO - Amanda Anisimova, USA (24th)
2026 WI - Coco Gauff, USA (28th)





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Football... ;)











TOP QUALIFIER: Robin Montgomery/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (two straight sets wins; extends slam TB win streak to 21)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Anastasia Gasanova/RUS def. Varvara Lepchenko/USA 2-6/6-1/7-6(12-10) - Lepchenko led 5-3 in the 3rd, twice served for the match, led 5-1 in MTB and at 9-6 held four MP over a 5-point stretch. Gasanova wins 12-10.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Maya Joint/AUS def. Serena Williams/USA 6-3/6-7(6)/6-3 - 20-year old Aussie, 1-13 in her last 14 matches, defeats returning 44-year old Williams in her first singles match since 2022
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI (def. Stojsavljevic/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Maja Chwalinska/POL (1st Rd. - hurt ankle/foot on MP up 6-2/5-2 vs. Sawangkaew/THA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Anastasia Gasanova/RUS (2nd MD), Tyra Grant/ITA (1st MD), Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA (2nd MD), Lanlada Tararudee/THA (2nd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: Southeast Asians
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GBR (1-7 1st Rd., after 0/7 through qualfiying; Kartal DNP, Raducanu w/d and started 0-7 in MD play)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Ashlyn Krueger/USA (in 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Karolina Pliskova/CZE, Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP (both 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: Darja Semenistaja/LAT(L)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "Filipina": Alex Eala/PHI (first PHI to slam Round of 16)
COMEBACK PLAYER: x
CRASH & BURN: #2 Elena Rybakina/KAZ, #3 Iga Swiatek/POL and #6 Amanda Anisimova/USA ('22 champ and both '25 finalists lose in 3rd Round on middle Saturday)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Nominees: Krueger (1r- trailed Vekic set and 5-3, twice served for match); Gauff (2r- Sierra at 5-4 in 3rd, 7-4 in MTB); Noskova (3r- saved MP vs. Cirstea)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
LAWN COURT ROLLER: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Maja Chwalinska/POL (devastating loss in 1st Rd. after having MP at 6-2/5-2 before fall injuries ankle); Additional nominees: Muchova, Noskova, Bouzkova








All for Day 7. More tomorrow.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:00 PM  0 comments

Saturday, July 04, 2026

W.6- The Eala Escalation


The Eala Escalation knob gets turned up one more notch.




The idea of being challenged by a player such as Alex Eala was always the test that was going to tell the tale of Iga Swiatek's 2026 Wimbledon (i.e. whether there was any chance of her making anything at all of her return to the scene of her most surprising title run from last summer).

After (overly) celebrating her 1st Round win over Taylor Townsend in a contest that was tough enough to be worrisome, then looking better against an opponent in the 2nd Round (Karolina Pliskova) who has a brow-beating history in their head-to-head (as in never getting a win, and once not even getting a game), when the 21-year old Filipina secured her chance to face off with the #3 seed and defending champion the match-up came equipped with a hungry opponent in good form and who has shown a natural ability on grass courts (11-3 this season, with a pair of Top 10 wins), as well as one who has gotten the best of Swiatek in the past (in their first meeting in Miami last year, before a three-set loss in Madrid a short time later), meaning that the mental game was likely already providing a checkmark in the column of Swiatek's *opponent* before either stepped on court.

In recent seasons, such a combination has rarely worked out well for Swiatek. And it didn't again today.

For her part, Swiatek put up a fight in the 1st set, albeit one that saw her facing not just Eala but her own questioning self *and* a coach in Francisco Roig who wasn't about to sugar-coat his in-match analysis ("she's not beating you, you are losing").

Eala had a BP in the first game of the match, but Swiatek got the hold, and even went up a break at 2-1 soon afterward. But the Pole gave the break back a game later, and saw Eala out-play her (now routinely) error-prone attack by breaking to lead 5-3 and serving for the 1st set.

Eala pushed a down-the-line forehand just wide that would have given her a 40/15 lead, but she still held a SP that was denied by Swiatek, who ultimately got the break to stay alive. After Eala had a pair of GP at 5-5, Swiatek reached but failed to convert a BP, then missed on a volley that would have given her a second. Eala got the hold for 6-5, while Swiatek did the same (from 15/30) a game later.

Into a TB they went, with Eala again taking advantage of Swiatek's mounting mistakes, leading 5-2 before Swiatek ran off four straight points to suddenly reach SP at 6-5 with a chance to virtually steal the lead in the match. A return error gave away that chance. After Eala caught a sideline to get another SP (also not converted), Swiatek had another SP of her own (a forehand error ended the renewed threat). Finally, on her fourth SP (third in the TB), Eala won 11-9 courtesy of a long Swiatek forehand.



With Swiatek reeling, the chances of another disheartening and stunning exiting set loss was on the table, and right on cue Eala ran out to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd as Swiatek's serve issues, unforced errors and clear psychological and emotional misgivings about *all* of it sent her down the other side of the hill she climbed (w/ a different, since fired, coach) just twelve months ago.

After dropping serve at 15 to fall behind 5-2, Swiatek managed one final surge as Eala tried to serve out another in a long line of historic results for the Philippines native.

In what was a long final game, Swiatek saved a pair of MP and held four BP, but could never keep her game aligned long enough to string together enough points to give herself a chance to possibly pull off a miracle turnaround. Finally, on her third MP, Eala completed the mission to get the 7-6(9)/6-2 victory, her second in three meetings (on three surfaces) vs. the former #1.

It's Eala's third Top 10 win this grass season, and makes her the first Filipino player to ever reach the second week of a major in the Open era.



While Eala's star-turn reaches another level, with seemingly still more headroom to spare, what of Swiatek?

Well, first off, what are the odds that Roig makes it through the summer? Swiatek has by now developed a pattern (with one glaring exception) of cutting team members once things stop working out as perfectly as she'd wish. She seems to have *regressed* during Roig's brief tenure, though I guess the new pattern she's establishing now is to say that that's actually *the plan*. Okay, Iga.

Whatever. Roig should be watching his back, or maybe make the first move on his own.

It's been pretty clear from the start that Roig was put in a difficult spot on Team Iga. Just because he *used* to work with Rafa Nadal, which seemed to be main reason he was tapped to replace Wim Fissette, it doesn't mean that he has the magic ability to instill the champion's heart of the Spaniard into another talented player who, no matter how high she once soared, has been a pale immitation of that would-be all-time great for most of the last two years.

Once Swiatek started to wobble, the opponents with reason to no longer do so discontinued their fear of facing her, and in many ways transferred that pressure onto the Pole herself, who has never seemed to be very well-equipped to consistently deal with unanticipated gameday stress (for every scrambling '22 U.S. Open run, there have since been half a dozen in-match breakdowns when an opponent decided not to back down from the challenge she presented them).

Last summer, Swiatek managed to find her way out of the fog by listening to Fissette and (ironically) almost mimicking Nadal by changing her approach and game style for grass courts, leading to a wildly successful run on the lawns and carry-over into the summer hard court season with a title in Cincinnati. But as soon as things got tough again this spring, Swiatek tossed Fissette aside like jetsam into the vast tennis ocean, while never seeming to ever address the clear psychological issues she's unsuccessfully faced while devolving from all-time great to the latest "what's happened?" example of a champion who has lost her edge. All the while, she's steadfastly defended her in-house "sports psychologist" (Daria Abramowicz) even as she's seemed to be very bad (and getting worse) at her job.

If she continues to desire to sybolically die on that hill, what once seemed like a spectacular and ongoing slam title-winning career might just die with it (or at least take an even longer, extended break).

Meanwhile, tennis moves on. Eala is one of the new stars. And she comes equipped with good post-match comments, too (even if today's seemed maybe a tad *too* much like lines from a well-worn stump speech).










=DAY 6 NOTES=
...while Swiatek's loss garnered the most headlines on Day 6, the exit on Saturday of #2 Elena Rybakina likely has much more impact on the future course of this Wimbledon. Although, *she* didn't exactly arrive in London having showed a great deal of promise when it came to a deep run, either.

Still, the thought of the Kazakh suddenly finding her game -- largely missing since early spring -- on the grass courts of the All-England Club wasn't *that* big of a stretch to consider. After a very shaky 1st Round, Rybakina had seemingly found a groove in the 2nd. But today she was back to her error-prone ways, very unlike the Rybakina who ended 2025 in a full on-court sprint, and then started '26 by winning the Australian Open. Though she managed to eke out a title run in Stuttgart despite some uneven play early in the clay season, Rybakina hasn't really been the same since her pair of losses to Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells and Miami in March when she had the chance to take the season by the hair and drag it into the spring/summer, only to see her presumed #1 rival put together maybe the biggest two-event run of her career with a Sunshine Double triumph.

Today she faced #25 Elise Mertens. Rybakina held a 7-1 head-to-head edge on the veteran Waffle, who'd never beaten a Top 2 player in her career nor taken out a Top 10 player on grass despite the 30-year old having enjoyed a long, successful WTA lifespan (10 titles, 14 Top 10 wins, second weeks at every major, and an early-career SF at the AO in 2018).

But the 2022 Wimbledon champion went down, and fairly hard on her way out.

Of course, after Rybakina dropped a 6-1 set in the 1st Round to clay courter Lois Boisson earlier in the week, I suppose it was also pretty easy to see today's 7-6(4)/6-1 loss coming. It's Rybakina's second straight 3rd Round exit at Wimbledon, courtesy of a 12 winner/31 UE day from the world #2.



...the second week hasn't officially begun, but *both* of last year's finalists are already out. Joining Swiatek on the sidelines today was #6 seed and '25 runner-up Amanda Anisimova, who took the 1st set vs. fellow Bannerette #26 Madison Keys, but then proceeded to let her emotional responses to a bad start in the 2nd grow into a full-on momentum-builder for Keys, who assumed control to win 3-6/6-2/6-3 in what was -- surprisingly -- the veteran's very first match ever on Centre Court.



Keys joins Sabalenka as the only two women to have reached the second week at all three of the majors played thus far in 2026.

Meanwhile, history hasn't been kind to the pre-event grass court title winners this century, as with both of this year's Week 23 champions (Vekic/Montgomery) out of this event the streak of pre-SW19 winners not also winning Wimbledon has been extended to 87 (w/ just one winner - Sharapova in 2004 -- doubling-up in the last 104 singles title champions since Jana Novotna's 1998 SW19 win). But Eastbourne winner Keys remains one of four '26 winners still alive to complete the feat. Joining her are three Czechs: Karolina Muchova (Bad Homburg), and two other winners from today.

...#9 Linda Noskova, who briefly climbed into the Top 10 with her Berlin title a few weeks ago, reached her third career slam Round of 16 today, outlasting #17 Sorana Cirstea, 2-6/6-3/7-6(11-9).

The Czech won out in a back-and-forth tussle, with the 3rd set seeing both women have opportunity slip through their fingers. Noskova led 4-2, only to see Cirstea win three straight games and hold a MP at 5-4. Next it was Noskova's turn, as she served up 6-5, 40/15 with a pair of MP of her own. The affair went to a MTB, where again they traded off shots and chances to win.

Noskova led 5-4, then Cirstea surged ahead at 7-5. But the Romanian couldn't push through to the finish, as Noskova ran off three straight points to lead 8-7 before getting two more chances to put away the win. Finally, on her fourth MP, she took the breaker 11-9.



...joining Noskova (and Barbora Krejcikova and Muchova) in the Round of 16 is a fourth Czech, #21 Marie Bouzkova. This hear's Nottingham champ ran her grass court winning streak to eight matches (9-1 overall) with a three-set win over Liudmila Samsonova, reaching the second week at SW19 for the third time in five years.

Bouzkova is 13-6 in her Wimbledon career, while just 13-22 at the other three majors combined.



As for Samsonova, today proved that unless you're Marta Kostyuk executing an on-court flip isn't all that easy. The Hordette did good work this grass season, especially at the AELTC, taking the necessary steps to turn around her wayward season. In what was a 3:25 battle today, the longest women's match so far at this Wimbledon, Samsonova converted just 3 of 20 BP chances on the day. Still, if she could have converted just *one* more she'd have stood a very good chance to play into the second week in the event in back-to-back years.

After Samsonova took the 1st set, Bouzkova forced and won a 2nd set TB to get to a decider. The Czech held an early 4-2 lead, and was close to pulling away up 4-3, 40/15. But Samsonova *did* manage to get the break there, only to give it back a game later. Serving a 5-4, though, Bouzkova fell behind love/40. But the Hordette couldn't put away a handful of consecutive BP, as Bouzkova swept the final five points of the day to win 4-6/7-6(3)/6-4.

Still, after seeming to finally make a *partial* turn in recent weeks, the summer hard court season *is right there* for Samsonova to take her grass court momentum and go out and have a great final-third of 2026.

We'll soon see if she what she does. Yet again.

...speaking of Kostyuk, she's been far quieter at this major than she was in the last (largely because she came into Paris on a white-hot heater). But she's heading to another second week at a slam.

#12 Kostyuk got over the 3rd Round Wimbledon hump today after twice falling at this stage in the past, defeating #23 Emma Navarro 6-2/4-6/6-1 to reach her maiden SW19 4th Round and joining Naomi Osaka in completing her Career Round of 16 Slam (in MD #26) with her fifth such result in her slam career.

Two of Kostyuk's four maiden 4th Rounds in slam play (US-WI) have come in the last four majors (with ther first SF at RG in between)..



...the biggest "longshot" in the final sixteen is Ashlyn Krueger, the only qualifier and lone player ranked outside the Top 100 (#102) remaining in the draw. She's also recorded more wins on grass courts than any other player this season, improving to 16-1 (w/ 11 straight wins) with her 6-3/6-2 victory today over Daria Snigur.



A Birmingham 125 semifinalist, Ilkey 125 champion, Wimbledon qualifier and now first-time major Round of 16 player (in her 14th MD) in recent weeks, Krueger is on a 19-2 clay/grass run that began with her successful RG qualifying attempt. The stretch has come after she'd started '26 at 8-12 (and w/ a 9-18 mark back to her 2nd Round loss at last year's U.S. Open).

...and #13 Jasmine Paolini, trying to find her way in a super-disappointing season, posted a much-needed, pointing-her-in-the-right-direction result with her 6-1/6-2 3rd Round win today over Maria Sakkari.

The win puts the '24 finalist into her second SW19 second week. She'd come into this Wimbledon at just 1-4 in her other AELTC appearances other than in the dream run (of two in majors that year) of two years ago. It also makes this the Italian's first three-win event singles event consecutive runs in Beijing and Wuhan last October.










*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #14 Naomi Osaka/JPN
#10 Karolina Muchova/CZE vs. Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #16 Iva Jovic/USA
#11 Belinda Bencic/SUI vs. #7 Coco Gauff/USA
(Q) Ashlyn Krueger/USA vs. #12 Marta Kostyuk/UKR
#13 Jasmine Paolini/ITA vs. #29 Alex Eala/PHI
#26 Madison Keys/USA vs. #9 Linda Noskova/CZE
#21 Marie Bouzkova/CZE vs. #25 Elise Mertens/BEL









...AS EXPECTED... ON DAY 6:



The situation with Baptiste in Paris was just horrible luck. This was a case of rolling the dice with her sisters' eleventh-hour singles whim after a four-year absence. Both are bad for Venus, but this one could have been seen coming from miles away.


...ORIGINAL MARTINA IN THE HOUSE... ON DAY 6:




...SO, SHE CRIED AFTER DEFEATING A PART-TIME SINGLES PLAYER IN THE 1st ROUND... ON DAY 6:

...but when she loses two rounds later, she no longer cares about the results? I'm gonna call B-S on that right here and now. Things might still get far worse before they get better again.




It would seem that Swiatek could really use the help of a sports psychologist. It's too bad that she doesn-... oh, yeah.



...EXODUS, PART (what's it up to now, anyway?)... ON DAY 6:









While democracy in the U.S. might at least *feel* as if its in danger, one thing that most definitely is not is this weird, sometimes demented, oft-criticized, but always stupidly (in the best way) "oh-so-American" Independence Day tradition.

Per ESPN's opening montage at the start of this July 4th, the competitors in the latest version of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest arrived at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues at Coney Island, New York on this the United States' semiquincentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence fully prepared to "exercise their inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of the yellow belt."

In recent years, nothing has been able to derail this salute-to-gluttony-turned-heritage-event. Not a worldwide pandemic, nor even an angry Mother Nature.

The same has been the case with Joey Chestnut, aka "Joey Jaws," aka the "Michelangelo of Mastication," aka the "Caravaggio of Consumption."

Over the years, seventeen-time champion Chestnut has grown into an Independence Day folk hero, aside from setting the all-time hot dog eating mark of 76 (in ten minutes) in 2021. In 2022, he single-handedly subdued a stage-rushing protester, putting him in a headlock and leaving him for security -- in the middle of the competiton (which he still won easily, of course). In 2023, he emerged in Pope-like fashion from behind the scenes to seemingly rally efforts to get the men's event back on track several hours after a sudden and dangerous weather emergency had nearly caused it to be cancelled after a lightning strike, downpour, and the flooding of the streets caused the stage to be cleared and spectators to run for cover and huddle together anywhere they could find safety.

Chestnut even overcame his own 2024 "ban" from the event he'd dominated for nearly two decades, the result of a contract "misunderstanding" that centered around his endorsement of a plant-based hog dog. After sitting out the year, he returned last July 4th to destroy the competition yet again to lift the Mustard Belt.

In 2026, in a time of national political uncertainty and clamour, Chestnut was once again a calm, and ravenous, port in the storm.



But before Chestnut hit the stage, undefeated women's champ Miki Sudo once more proved her star power.

While the earlier-starting women's event still play's second-fiddle to the men's, not airing live on the network (only on streaming), the competition has garnered more and more recognition over the years. Now it gets up-front treatment on the July 4th broadcast, making for a more complete production than was formerly the case.

Sudo is the main reason for this, since her dominance actually has proven to be topped -- but only perhaps -- by that of Chestnut himself.

Since 2014, the now 40-year old Arizona native has dominated the women's competition, winning every year in which she's participated (Sudo missed '21 due to being nine and a quarter months pregnant), setting the women's all-time dogs-and-buns record with 51 downed in ten mintues in 2024. She was the first woman to crack the 50 barrier.

This year, as a heat wave ravaged the East Coast, a challenge to her own record wasn't likely. But Sudo didn't disappoint, dominating once again to win her twelfth Pink Belt in twelve tries by downing 38.75 dogs-and-buns (though her unofficial final total had been 33, making some suspicious that betting activity may have been involved with the post-competition "correction" that swayed many wagers since her over/under for the day had been been reported as being 38).



Sudo easily outpaced second place finisher (and '21 champ in Sudo's absence) Michelle Lesco's 22, and Domenica Dee's third-place total of 21.5.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING WOMEN'S CHAMPS*
2011 Sonya Thomas
2012 Sonya Thomas
2013 Sonya Thomas
2014 Miki Sudo
2015 Miki Sudo
2016 Miki Sudo
2017 Miki Sudo
2018 Miki Sudo
2019 Miki Sudo
2020 Miki Sudo
2021 Michelle Lesco
2022 Miki Sudo
2023 Miki Sudo
2024 Miki Sudo
2025 Miki Sudo
2026 Miki Sudo

[competition record]
51.0 - Miki Sudo, 2024
48.5 - Miki Sudo, 2020 (*-held indoors)
45.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2013
41.0 - Miki Sudo, 2017
40.0 - Sonya Thomas, 2011
40.0 - Miki Sudo, 2022

Later, Chestnut handily picked up his eighteenth Mustard Belt, even while hampered by the hot conditions that made a run at a new record (250? Nah, just kiddin') nearly impossible.

Chestnut, who was never challenged throughout, finished with 66 dogs-and-buns consumed, topping Patrick Bertoletti (the "replacement champ" in '24) and his 51 total, with Aussie James Webb finishing third yet again with 47.5.



Of course, Chestnut's win didn't come without a bit of controversy, as he was criticized by some for donning a chain around his neck emblazoned with the logo of the crypto-based prediction market Polymarket both during his event introduction and immediately after his latest victory, as part of a sponsorship deal. And combined with the odd "miscount" of Sudo's final total, it seemed to resurrect the issue of whether there really *was* something to the raised eyebrows from earlier in the day.

But the U.S. has survived worse, and is surely in the process of attempting to do so as we speak. Let Chestnut be Chestnut, I say. He's more than earned his place in the Pantheon of the Pallet.

*NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING MEN'S CHAMPS - since 2000*
2000 Kazutoyo Arai
2001 Takeru Kobayashi
2002 Takeru Kobayashi
2003 Takeru Kobayashi
2004 Takeru Kobayashi
2005 Takeru Kobayashi
2006 Takeru Kobayashi
2007 Joey Chestnut
2008 Joey Chestnut [def. Takeru Kobayashi in 5-dog "Eat-Off"]
2009 Joey Chestnut
2010 Joey Chestnut
2011 Joey Chestnut
2012 Joey Chestnut
2013 Joey Chestnut
2014 Joey Chestnut
2015 Matt Stonie
2016 Joey Chestnut
2017 Joey Chestnut
2018 Joey Chestnut
2019 Joey Chestnut
2020 Joey Chestnut
2021 Joey Chestnut
2022 Joey Chestnut
2023 Joey Chestnut
2024 Patrick Bertoletti
2025 Joey Chestnut
2026 Joey Chestnut

[competition record]
76 - Joey Chestnut, 2021
75 - Joey Chestnut, 2020 (*-held indoors)
74 - Joey Chestnut, 2018
72 - Joey Chestnut, 2017























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Meanwhile...












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*RECENT WIMBLEDON "IT" WINNERS*
2017 [Next WC Great?] Diede de Groot, NED
2018 [GenPDQ Pole] Iga Swiatek, POL
2019 [Kid] Coco Gauff, USA
2021 [Teen Brit] Emma Raducanu, GBR
2022 [Groundbreakers] Ons Jabeur/TUN and Elena Rybakina/KAZ
2023 [Teen Phenom] Mirra Andreeva, RUS
2024 [Kiwi] Lulu Sun, NZL
2025 [Turk] Zeynep Sonmez, TUR
2026 [Filipina] Alex Eala, PHI

*EARLIEST LOSS IN WIMBLEDON TITLE DEFENSES (Open era)*
1994 1st Rd. - Steffi Graf
2024 1st Rd. - Marketa Vondrousova
2018 2nd Rd. - Garbine Muguruza
2019 2nd Rd. - Angelique Kerber
2006 3rd Rd. - Venus Williams
2015 3rd Rd. - Petra Kvitova
2025 3rd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova
2026 3rd Rd. - IGA SWIATEK

*BEST 2026 SLAM RESULTS*
[qualifiers]
RG RU - Maja Chwalinska, POL
AO 4th - Maddison Inglis, AUS
WI - ASHLYN KRUEGER, USA (in 4th Rd.)
RG 4th - Wang Xiyu, CHN

*"CAREER SLAM" FEATS IN 2020s*
2020 US - Alize Cornet, FRA (57th slam MD)
2021 AO - Donna Vekic, CRO (29th)
2021 US - Iga Swiatek, POL (11th)
2022 AO - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (8th)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
2022 US - Caroline Garcia, FRA (42nd)
2022 US - Coco Gauff, USA (13th)
2022 US - Ons Jabeur, TUN (22nd)
2022 US - Zhang Shuai, CHN (41st)
2023 RG - Karolina Muchova, CZE (17th)
2023 RG - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (21st)
2023 WI - Jessie Pegula, USA (19th)
2023 WI - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (21st)
2023 US - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (31st)
2024 WI - Danielle Collins, USA (27th)
2024 US - Paula Badosa, ESP (19th)
2024 US - Jasmine Paolini, ITA (20th)
2025 AO - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (36th)
2025 AO - Emma Navarro, USA (9th)
2025 US - Amanda Anisimova, USA (23rd)
2025 US - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (25th)
2026 AO - Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (48th)
2026 RG - Belinda Bencic, SUI (38th)
2026 WI - Marta Kostyuk, UKR (26th)
2026 WI - Naomi Osaka, JPN (34th)

*FIRST CAREER SLAM ROUND OF 16 in 2026*
AO: Maddison Inglis, AUS (7th MD)
AO: Iva Jovic, USA (6th)
AO: Victoria Mboko, CAN (4th)
RG: Maja Chwalinska, POL (3rd)
RG: Diane Parry, FRA (21st)
RG: Wang Xiyu, CHN (16th)
WI: Alex Eala, PHI (6th)
WI: Ashlyn Krueger, USA (14th)

*"FIRST SLAM..." FEATS IN 2020s*
=ROUND OF 16 (at Wimbledon)=
2021 WI - Viktorija Golubic, SUI (18th slam MD)
2021 WI - Emma Raducanu, GBR (1st)
2021 WI - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (6th)
2022 WI - Marie Bouzkova, CZE (14th)
2022 WI - Tatjana Maria, GER (35th)
2022 WI - Jule Niemeier, GER (2nd)
2022 WI - Harmony Tan, FRA (7th)
2022 WI - Heather Watson, GBR (43rd)
2023 WI - Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (26th)
2023 WI - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (2nd)
2024 WI - Lulu Sun, NZL (2nd)
2025 WI - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP (7th)
2025 WI - Sonay Kartal, GBR (6th)
2025 WI - Solana Sierra, ARG (3rd)
2026 WI - Alex Eala, PHI (6th)
2026 WI - Ashlyn Krueger, USA (14th)

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "CRASH & BURN" WINNERS*
2016 Garbine Muguruza, ESP (RG champ; 2nd Rd.)
2017 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (1st Rd; 7 MP)
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE (1st Rd.)
2019 Naomi Osaka, JPN (1st Rd.)
2021 Serena Williams, USA & Petra Kvitova, CZE (both 1st Rd.)
2022 Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA & Garbine Muguruza, ESP (both 1r)
2023 Tatjana Maria, GER ('22 SF to 1st Rd.)
2024 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (first DC 1r since 1994)
2025 Coco Gauff & Jessie Pegula, USA (#2/#3; first GS 2 Top 3 out 1r)
2026 E.Rybakina, I.Swiatek & A.Anisimova (#2, #3/DC & RU out 3r/Day 6)

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "LAST QUALIFIER STANDING"*
=2019=
Coco Cauff, USA (4th Rd.)
=2021=
Maria (Camila Osorio) Serrano, COL (3rd Rd.)
=2022=
M.Chwalinska/POL, C.Harrison/USA, M.Hontama/JPN, K.Kawa/POL, Y.Wickmayer/BEL (all 2nd Rd.)
=2023=
Mirra Andreeva, RUS (4th Rd.)
=2024=
Lulu Sun, NZL (QF)
=2025=
Diane Parry, FRA (3rd Rd.)
=2026=
Ashlyn Krueger, USA (in 4th Rd.)




*2026 WI FINAL 16*
[by ranking]
#1 - Aryna Sabalenka
#4 - Jessie Pegula
#7 - Coco Gauff
#9 - Karolina Muchova
#11 - Belinda Bencic
#12 - Linda Noskova
#13 - Marta Kostyuk
#14 - Naomi Osaka
#16 - Iva Jovic
#17 - Jasmine Paolini
#22 - Madison Keys
#23 - Marie Bouzkova
#27 - Elise Mertens
#32 - Alex Eala
#38 - Barbora Krejcikova
#102 - Ashlyn Krueger

[by age]
32 - Pegula
31 - Keys
30 - Krejcikova, Mertens, Paolini
29 - Bencic, Muchova
28 - Osaka, Sabalenka
27 - Bouzkova
24 - Kostyuk
22 - Gauff, Krueger
21 - Eala, Noskova
18 - Jovic

[by nation]
5 - USA (Gauff,Jovic,Keys,Krueger,Pegula)
4 - CZE (Bouzkova,Krejcikova,Muchova,Noskova)
1 - BEL (Mertens)
1 - BLR (Sabalenka)
1 - ITA (Paolini)
1 - JPN (Osaka)
1 - PHI (Eala)
1 - SUI (Bencic)
1 - UKR (Kostyuk)

[by career slam Round-of-16s]
25 - Keys
20 - Sabalenka
18 - Gauff
17 - Mertens
13 - Bencic
12 - Pegula
10 - Krejickova, Muchova
9 - Osaka
6 - Paolini
5 - Kostyuk
3 - Bouzkova, Noskova
2 - Jovic
1 - Eala, Krueger

[w/ consecutive slam Round of 16s]
15 (8) - Sabalenka (last 15 played, 8 con. = DNP Wimb.'24)
3 - Keys
2 - Bencic, Kostyuk

[w/ multiple career WI Round of 16s]
6 - Keys
5 - Bencic
4 - Gauff, Sabalenka
3 - Bouzkova, Krejickova, Mertens, Muchova
2 - Noskova, Paolini, Pegula

[w/ consecutive WI Round of 16s]
4 (2) - Sabalenka (DNP Wimb. '24)
3 - Bencic
2 - Mertens, Noskova

[WTA career slam Round of 16s - active]
64...Serena Williams
50...Venus Williams
30...Victoria Azarenka
25...Madison Keys
22...Elina Svitolina
22...Iga Swiatek
20...Aryna Sabalenka
18...Coco Gauff
17...Elise Mertens
16...Sloane Stephens
16...Vera Zvonareva
14...Karolina Pliskova
13...Belinda Bencic
12...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
12...Jessie Pegula
11...Elena Rybakina
10...Amanda Anisimova
10...Ons Jabeur
10...Barbora Krejickova
10...Karolina Muchova

[WTA slam Round of 16s since 2020 (of 26) - active]
21 - Swiatek
20 - Sabalenka
16 - Gauff
12 - Mertens, Pegula, Svitolina
11 - Keys, Rybakina
10 - Jabeur
9 - Krejcikova, Muchova
8 - M.Andreeva, Anisimova, Badosa, Bencic
7 - Azarenka
6 - Paolini, Pavlyuchenkova, Vondrousova
5 - Kasatkina, Kostyuk, Navarro, Osaka
5 - Sakkari, Samsonova
5 - Vekic, Zheng Q.
4 - Alexandrova, Cirstea, Collins
4 - Haddad Maia, Kasatkina, Kenin
4 - Ostapenko, Ka.Pliskova
3 - Bouzkova, Kalinskaya, V.Kudermetova
3 - Noskova, Putintseva, Raducanu, Stephens
3 - Tomljanovic, Wang Xinyu, S.Williams, Zhang

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - youngest]
18 - Iva Jovic (AO)
18 - Iva Jovic (WI)
18 - Mirra Andreeva (AO)
19 - Mirra Andreeva (RG)
19 - Victoria Mboko (AO)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - oldest]
36 - Sorana Cirstea (RG)
32 - Jessie Pegula (WI)
31 - Jessie Pegula (AO)
31 - Yulia Putintseva (AO)
31 - Elina Svitolina (RG)
31 - Elina Svitolina (AO)
31 - Madison Keys (WI)
31 - Madison Keys (RG)
30 - Madison Keys (AO)
30 - Elise Mertens (WI)
30 - Elise Mertens (AO)
30 - Barbora Krejcikova (WI)
30 - Jasmine Paolini (WI)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - unseeded]
=AO (3)=
Maddison Inglis (Q), Yulia Putintseva, Wang Xinyu
=RG (4)=
Maya Chwalinska (Q), Diane Parry, Jil Teichmann (PR), Wang Xiyu (Q)
=WI (2)=
Krejcikova, Krueger(Q)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - 1st-time GS 4th Rd.; w/ MD #]
AO - (3) Inglis (7th), Jovic (6th), Mboko (4th)
RG - (3) Chwalinska (3rd), Parry (21st), Wang Xiyu (16th)
WI - (2) Eala (6th), Krueger (14th)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - completed "Career Round of 16 Slam"]
AO - Putintseva (48th slam MD)
RG - Bencic (38th)
WI - Kostyuk (26th), Osaka (34th)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - lowest-ranked]
#170 - Jil Teichmann (RG)
#168 - Maddison Inglis (AO)
#148 - Wang Xiyu (RG)
#114 - Maya Chwalinska (RG)
#102 - Ashlyn Krueger (WI)
#94 - Yulia Putintseva (AO)
#92 - Diane Parry (RG)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s]
3 - Madison Keys (AO/RG/WI)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka (AO/RG/WI)
2 - Mirra Andreeva (AO/RG)
2 - Belinda Bencic (RG/WI)
2 - Coco Gauff (AO/WI)
2 - Marta Kostyuk (RG/WI)
2 - Iva Jovic (AO/WI)
2 - Elise Mertens (AO/WI)
2 - Naomi Osaka (RG/WI)
2 - Jessie Pegula (AO/WI)
2 - Karolina Muchova (AO/WI)
2 - Elina Svitolina (AO/RG)
2 - Iga Swiatek (AO/RG)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - by nation]
11 = 5/1/5 = USA (Gauff,Jovic,Keys,Krueger,Pegula)
5 = 1/0/4 = CZE (Bouzkova,Krejcikova,Muchova,Noskova)
4 = 1/3/0 = RUS
4 = 1/2/1 = UKR (Kostyuk)
3 = 1/1/1 = BLR (Sabalenka)
3 = 1/2/0 = POL
3 = 0/2/1 = SUI (Bencic)
2 = 1/0/1 = BEL (Mertens)
2 = 1/1/0 = CHN
2 = 0/1/1 = JPN (Osaka)
2 = 2/0/0 = KAZ
= 1 AO: AUS,CAN
1 RG: AUT,FRA,ROU
1 WI: ITA(Paolini),PHI(Eala)

[2026 slam Rd. of 16s - by region]
16 = (3/6/7) - W.Europe/Scandinavia (BEL-CZE-ITA-SUI)
12 = (3/7/2) - Eastern Europe/Russia (BLR-UKR)
12 = (6/1/5) - North America/Atlantic (USA)
8 = (4/2/2) - Asia/Oceania (JPN-PHI)
0 = (0/0/0) - South America
0 = (0/0/0) - Africa/Middle East/Mediterranean






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They're still floating around out there, too. I got one back in change just the other day.


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Physical media forever and always 💚📼 #physicalmedia #vhs #laserdisc #bluray #physicalmediaforever

[image or embed]

— Movie Dumpster ™ (@moviedumpster.bsky.social) July 2, 2026 at 1:27 PM

📀 No buffering. No “this title has been removed.” Just pure, uninterrupted cinema. 🎞️ Carly Bunch argues that DVDs aren’t dead, they're just waiting for the rest of us. #PhysicalMediaForever #DVDCollection #MovieNight #FilmTalk #PellissippiState Watch here: youtu.be/ZQststo0p5o?...

[image or embed]

— Imaginary Gardens PSTCC (@imaginarygardens.bsky.social) October 15, 2025 at 9:39 AM









TOP QUALIFIER: Robin Montgomery/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (two straight sets wins; extends slam TB win streak to 21)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Anastasia Gasanova/RUS def. Varvara Lepchenko/USA 2-6/6-1/7-6(12-10) - Lepchenko led 5-3 in the 3rd, twice served for the match, led 5-1 in MTB and at 9-6 held four MP over a 5-point stretch. Gasanova wins 12-10.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Maya Joint/AUS def. Serena Williams/USA 6-3/6-7(6)/6-3 - 20-year old Aussie, 1-13 in her last 14 matches, defeats returning 44-year old Williams in her first singles match since 2022
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI (def. Stojsavljevic/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Maja Chwalinska/POL (1st Rd. - hurt ankle/foot on MP up 6-2/5-2 vs. Sawangkaew/THA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Anastasia Gasanova/RUS (2nd MD), Tyra Grant/ITA (1st MD), Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA (2nd MD), Lanlada Tararudee/THA (2nd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: Southeast Asians
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GBR (1-7 1st Rd., after 0/7 through qualfiying; Kartal DNP, Raducanu w/d and started 0-7 in MD play)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Ashlyn Krueger/USA (in 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Karolina Pliskova/CZE, Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP (both 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: Darja Semenistaja/LAT(L)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "Filipina": Alex Eala/PHI (first PHI to slam Round of 16)
COMEBACK PLAYER: x
CRASH & BURN: #2 Elena Rybakina/KAZ, #3 Iga Swiatek/POL and #6 Amanda Anisimova/USA ('22 champ and both '25 finalists lose in 3rd Round on middle Saturday)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Nominees: Krueger (1r- trailed Vekic set and 5-3, twice served for match); Gauff (2r- Sierra at 5-4 in 3rd, 7-4 in MTB); Noskova (3r- saved MP vs. Cirstea)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
LAWN COURT ROLLER: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Maja Chwalinska/POL (devastating loss in 1st Rd. after having MP at 6-2/5-2 before fall injuries ankle)








All for Day 6. More tomorrow.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:26 PM  0 comments