Marketa Vondrousova predicts ‘many surprises’ will occur in this year’s Wimbledon draw as she bids to become the first woman since 2016 to defend their title.
The Czech stunned the draw 12 months ago when she beat Ons Jabeur to claim her first and only major title. Her triumph made Vondrousova the seventh different player to win the trophy in as many years. The women’s game has had a reputation for inconsistency over the years but more shocks appear to occur on the grass.
“I think the draw is really open, for sure. I think we can expect many surprises on the grass courts. I feel like you never know what’s going to happen there,” the world No.6 said on Sunday.
“I feel like women’s tennis and women’s draws are really open these days and matches are tough, even from the first round. I think we can expect tough matches from the first matches.”
It is this unpredictability that is making the 25-year-old stay grounded about her chances in this year’s event. She is yet to win a title in 2024 with her best run being on the clay when she reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart, as well as the quarter-finals of the French Open. More recently, in Berlin, she suffered an injury scare after slipping on the German grass.
“I feel like you just have to prepare for the stress and the pressure. Now people are watching you more, they expect you to play semis or finals in every tournament. I don’t think that’s possible.” She said.
“I don’t think you can feel stress-free at all when you are 6 in the world.”
Fortunately for Vondrousova, the scare wasn’t significant enough to have any impact on her Wimbledon preparation. In the first round, she will take on Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro who has won two ITF events and a WTA 125 already this year.
“It was really scary. I didn’t play for a couple of days. I’m feeling good. I hope it’s going to be okay.” She concluded.
The last woman to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles was Serena Williams.
