Wimbledon 2024 women's singles draw: Biggest winner and loser ft. Iga Swiatek

The dust has finally settled on the Wimbledon field, with the Iga Swiatek-led women’s singles draw being announced on Friday, June 28. The World No. 1 faces a host of challenges in her pursuit of a first Wimbledon trophy.

The 2024 draw is loaded with a number of Grand Slam champions and former No. 1 players and some players find themselves in tougher sections than others.

With the main draw action set to begin in a couple of days, we take a look at the prospects of some of the biggest names in the draw:

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Biggest loser of Wimbledon draw: Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek has been handed a nightmare draw, starting right from the opening round where she faces fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin.

The American, who lifted the trophy at the 2020 Australian Open, has not been able to sustain the level that saw her reach the sport’s pinnacle but remains a threat. Just last year, she stunned Coco Gauff in the Wimbledon second round to a big upset.

A rematch from last year’s event awaits Swiatek in the second round in the form of Petra Martic. Local wildcard Francesca Jones, who recently had her breakthrough in Nottingham, may look to upset the equation.

Things don’t get any easier for the top seed as former champion Angelique Kerber, Birmingham champ Yulia Putintseva, and two-time 2024 grass quarterfinalist Katerina Siniakova loom in the third round.

Swiatek is projected to meet Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round. The Latvian is one of the rare opponents who the World No. 1 is yet to master. She trails Ostapenko 0-4 in their current head-to-head.

If she were to maneuver the tricky quarter, Swiatek could run into defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals. A win here would only earn a showdown against either former champ Elena Rybakina, two-time former finalist Ons Jabeur, or Berlin winner Jessica Pegula.

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco are the top seeds in the bottom half and potential finals opponents for Swiatek.

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Biggest winner of Wimbledon draw: Zheng Qinwen

Zheng Qinwen

Zheng comes into this year’s Wimbledon Championships as the eighth seed. She has, however, been afforded plenty of breathing space in the draw.

The Chinese, who herself lost in the Berlin second-round, opens against qualifier Lulu Sun with another qualifier or a returning Alison Van Uytvanck awaiting in the second round.

The first seeded name that Zheng could play is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. While the Russian is a former quarterfinalist, she has not had a good season on grass and has made it past the opening round at SW19 only once since 2017.

Another out-of-form opponent in the form of Maria Sakkarin looms in the quarterfinal. The Greek could well fall prey to a resurgent Emma Raducanu early.

The first actual challenge for Zheng could come in the quarterfinals when she takes on Aryna Sabalenka. That said, the Chinese player has plenty of time early to find her stride.