Wimbledon 2018: Top 11 contenders to win the women's title

Wimbledon, the most prestigious tennis tournament and oldest Grand Slam, starts in less than a week on July 2, 2018.

For the past several years, Serena Williams has been the dominant player here. However, after she won the 2017 Australian Open and went on maternity leave, there has not been a single player who has been able to take up the mantle from her.

The past five Grand Slams have seen five different Grand Slam champions, with four first-time winners. The number 1 ranking has changed hands eight times. And just as with the previous five Grand Slams, there is no clear favorite at this year's Wimbledon; all the top 15 players seem to have an equal chance.

Let us take a look at some of the top contenders for the 2018 title:

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Serena Williams

Serena Williams is a 7-time champion

The Queen returned to tennis in February to play doubles in the Fed Cup. She had planned to play at the Australian Open but had to withdraw as she did not feel she was at a stage where she could give 100 per cent.

Serena then suffered early exits at Indian Wells and Miami, and made her Grand Slam return at the French Open where she played well and reached the fourth round. Unfortunately for her though, she had to withdraw from her much-anticipated clash against Maria Sharapova due to a pectoral muscle injury.

It remains to be seen if the 7-time champion and 2-time runner-up will be fighting fit for Wimbledon. But she remains a contender whenever and wherever she plays, and it would not be wise to count her out should she participate.

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Venus Williams is a 5-time champion

Venus Williams

The ageless Venus Williams is a 5-time champion and 4-time runner-up. Wimbledon seems to bring out the best in her, but at 38 years of age can she realistically go all the way?

In 2017, she reached the final and gave a good fight in the first set before going down tamely in the second (most likely due to fatigue and illness). She can go deep again, provided her health permits, as was evident last year when she reached two Slam finals and a semi-final.

The champion that Venus is, she has never used her illness as an excuse. She is a solid dark horse for this year's Championships.

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Simona Halep

Simon Halep is the current World Number 1

World No. 1 Simona Halep won her first Grand Slam at the 2018 French Open and is a 3-time Grand Slam finalist. Her best showing at Wimbledon was reaching the semi-finals in 2014, and she's also made quarter-final finishes the last 2 years.

Although grass is not her best surface, Halep will look to build on her recent Grand Slam breakthrough by making another deep run at Wimbledon.

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Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki is the World Number 2

Caroline Wozniacki also had her Grand Slam breakthrough in 2018 by winning the Australian Open after two final finishes at the US Open. She has not had much success at Wimbledon though, reaching the fourth round on six occasions.

Her game seems particularly unsuited to the fast lawns of the All-England Club, so don't expert her to do too much damage here.

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Garbine Muguruza

Garbine Muguruza

Garbine Muguruza is the defending champion and the 2015 runner-up. She is also the 2016 French Open champion, so it is clear she has the tools to perform well on all surfaces.

Muguruza hasn't had a great start to the grasscourt season, crashing out in the 2nd round of the Birmingham Classic, but she remains a strong contender.

Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens is the World Number 4

Sloan Stephens is the 2017 US Open champion and she also reached the final of the French Open. However, she hasn't had much success on grass; her best showing is a quarter-final appearance in 2013.

That said, Stephens hadn't had much success at any Slam before last year. She has been steadily improving since returning from foot surgery in January 2017, and can be considered a credible contender.

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Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe - Breakout stars?

Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe

Americans Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe have achieved a fair amount of success at Wimbledon. Keys reached the quarterfinal in 2015 while Vandeweghe reached there twice - in 2015 and 2017.

They have both shown rapid improvement in their games over the last couple of years and could do plenty of damage this year with their big serves and forehands.

Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova is a 2-time champion and World Number 5

Petra Kvitova is a 2-time champion but has not progressed past the 3rd round in the last 3 years. She is very comfortable on grass and won her warm up tournament at the Birmingham Classic. She is one of the strongest contenders without a doubt; some would even say she is the favorite.

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Angelique Kerber is the World Number 11 and a former World Number 1

Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber was the runner-up in 2016, and while she lost early in her warm-up tournament in Mallorca she has the ability to go all the way.

Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia, Karolína Plískova and Jeļena Ostapenko have not had much success on grass recently, with only Ostapenko reaching the quarterfinals last year and the rest not getting past round 4. They remain dangerous floaters but are not likely to win the trophy.

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is the 2004 champion and was the runner-up in 2011. Her last appearance culminated in a semifinal finish, back in 2015.

Sharapova has shown improvement since returning from her doping suspension and could qualify as a dark horse. She knows what it takes to win here, and if she can get her serve under control then she'd be hard to take out.

There are several other players capable of creating upsets and opening up the draw like Ashleigh Barty, Zhang Shuai, Johanna Konta, Kiki Bertens and Agnieszka Radwańska, to name a few. But it is nearly impossible to pick an out and out favourite as there has not been a single dominant player in the last one year.

Consistency is another aspect which has been lacking in the top players since Serena went on her maternity leave. As the past 5 Grand Slam tournaments have shown, all the top players have an even chance of winning.

The Williams sisters will remain the sentimental favourites, but we will have to see how each of them progresses into the second week of the Championships before we can make a sound prediction of who will lift the Venus Rosewater Dish. The uncertainty of the current women’s game makes it that much more exciting though; the winner's name is a total mystery for us right now.