#1. Can Iga Świątek make a run on the grass? Iga Świątek is the top player in the world on the ladies' side, most recently winning the French Open just a couple weeks back. Four of her five grand slam titles have come at the French Open with the US Open in 2022 being the other grand slam she has won. The furthest she's gone at Wimbledon is the quarterfinals last year. She's established herself as a dominant force on clay, but she now needs to start winning on other surfaces. It would be for her to win Wimbledon this year and show she can go the distance on grass. If she does that, that's really gonna stoke a lot of fear into the rest of the WTA.
#2. Can Jannik Sinner go the distance? Jannik Sinner is ranked #1 in the world on the gentlemen's side, winning the Australian Open this year. He's coming off a run to the semifinals at the French Open and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon last year. If he wants to solidify himself as the top player in the world for this year, he needs to win a second grand slam. Wimbledon would be a great place for him to pick up that second grand slam title of the season and of his career.
#3. Can Coco Gauff threaten to win it all? Coco Gauff comes in as the number two ranked player in the world. She won the US Open last year and has become a legitimate star of the sport. Funny enough, she first made headlines with her performance at Wimbledon when she was 14 years old, reaching the 4th round. Since then, she has not been able to go any further on the grass. At some point, you have to think she'll reach the quarterfinals and beyond at Wimbledon, but so far she hasn't done it. It'll be interesting to see if this is the year she finally does so.
#4. How will Novak Djokovic's knee hold up? Novak Djokovic comes in as the number two ranked player in the world, but he also comes in having had surgery on his right knee after the French Open to address a medial meniscus tear. Djokovic says the knee is feeling fine, but will it still feel that way after a few matches in? That's the question.
#5. How far will Jasmine Paolini go? Jasmine Paolini comes in ranked #7 in the world after reaching the 4th round of the Australian Open and final at the French Open earlier this season. She clearly appears to have figured something out with her game and will look to build on her success at Wimbledon. It's hard to figure out how she'll do at Wimbledon since she's never gone past the 1st round in her career. I suspect she'll go further than that this year, but 1st round upsets do happen. I'll be very interested to see how these two weeks go for her on the grass.
#6. Can Carlos Alcaraz defend his title? Carlos Alcaraz comes in as the #3 ranked player in the world on the men's side and the defending Wimbledon champion. He won the French Open a couple weeks back and now will look to complete the feat of winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back. Given how close the two grand slams are to each other and the differing surfaces, doing so is no easy task. If Alcaraz can defend his title, regardless of what the rankings say, he'll be sending a firm message that he is the top player in world.
#7. Can Marketa Vondrousova defend her title? Marketa Vondrousova comes in ranked #6 in the world, having won the ladies' Wimbledon singles title last year. After a disappointing 1st round exit at the Australian Open this year, she had a solid performance at Roland Garros by reaching the quarterfinals. She came out of nowhere to win Wimbledon last year and she had previously never gone further than the 2nd round. It's tough to figure how she'll perform, but on paper she's certainly a threat.
#8. Can Casper Ruud make some noise? Casper Ruud comes in ranked #8 in the world having reached three grand slam finals in his career (2022 French Open, 2022 US Open, & 2023 French Open). That said, he's really struggled on the grass, never getting past the 2nd round of Wimbledon in his career. It would be huge for him to be able to have a bit of a breakthrough at Wimbledon and at least reach the quarterfinals. The 25 year old Norwegian is at a point of his career where such a breakthrough needs to happen soon.
#9. Can Ons Jabeur win her first grand slam? Ons Jabeur comes in ranked #10 in the world, having reached back-to-back Wimbledon finals in 2022 and 2023. She also reached the US Open final in 2022. She's come close to winning a grand slam, but so far no cigar. At 29 years of age, she still has some time but one has to wonder whether or not she's got what it takes to go the distance at a grand slam or if she's maxed out with these trips to the final. If she were to win Wimbledon, she would put those questions to rest.
#10. Can Ben Shelton prove himself at Wimbledon? Coming in ranked #14 in the world, Ben Shelton is a rising star in the game at just 21 years of age. However, he's never gone further than the 2nd round at Wimbledon. His top grand slam performance overall is the semifinals at the US Open last year. He's got the pieces to be a consistent grand slam threat. He just needs to prove it. It would be cool if he made some noise in London this year.
Prediction: On the gentlemen's side, I have to roll with Carlos Alcaraz. I think he's the best player in the world regardless of what the rankings say and he proved me right in Paris when I picked him to win the French Open this year. On the ladies' side, it's much tougher to make a prediction, but I'll pick Coco Gauff to win it all. I do think she'll find a way to take it up a notch on the grass this year and win her first Wimbledon crown. She's one who will have a lot of support from the crowd, too.
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