Third round singles action continues on Saturday.
Despite a plethora of upsets throughout the first two rounds, there are plenty of third round matches in ladies’ singles to be excited about on Day 6, many of which see seeded players clash. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova faces US Open semifinalist Emma Navarro. 2022 champion Elena Rybakina takes on recent Dubai runner-up Clara Tauson. And five-time Major champion Iga Swiatek renews a contentious rivalry with Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins.
Third round gentlemen’s singles action on Saturday is headlined by Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Clara Tauson (23) vs. Elena Rybakina (11) – 11:00am on No.2 Court
With her straight-set victory on Thursday over Maria Sakkari, Rybakina tied Serena Williams for the fourth-highest winning percentage by a woman at Wimbledon in the Open Era (87.5%). Elena is now 21-3 at SW19, and is a perfect 4-0 in the third round. The 2022 champion is the favorite to reach the final in this half of the draw, though several threats remains in per path, including her opponent on Saturday.
Tauson is 26-13 in a season highlighted by a title run to start the year in Auckland, and a run to the final of Dubai a month later, her first final at WTA 1000 level. The 22-year-old came from a set down in her opening round against Heather Watson, before winning in straights against Anna Kalinskaya. Clara now looks to match her best result at a Major, as she reached the fourth round a year ago in Paris.
Rybakina leads their head-to-head 2-0, though both matches were tight. Most recently, they contested a three-setter at the 2024 Miami Open, where Elena eventually prevailed 6-4 in the third. But this will be their first match on grass, the surface Rybakina feels most comfortable on, and she should be able to power her way to another win over Tauson.
Daria Kasatkina (16) vs. Liudmila Samsonova (19) – 11:00am on No.3 Court
Kasatkina is a modest 16-16 in 2025, and arrived at Wimbledon on a four-match losing streak, going 0-3 at grass court leadup events. Yet she’s returned the third round at The All-England Club for the fifth time, with the loss of one set. Daria was a quarterfinalist back in 2018, but has failed to advance beyond this round ever since.
By contrast, Samsonova arrived at Wimbledon following some strong grass court victories in Berlin, over the likes of Osaka, Pegula, and Anisimova. And two of her five career WTA titles have come on this surface. Liudmila has dropped just eight games across four sets this week, as the 26-year-old looks to reach the round of 16 at The Championships for the second time.
Samsonova also claimed their only prior encounter, a three-setter earlier this year at Indian Wells. And as much as Kasatkina’s variety is well-suited for this surface, it’s Samsonova’s strong serving and aggressive groundstrokes that have found more success on grass. Liudmila should be favored to defeat Daria again on Day 6.
Barbora Krejcikova (17) vs. Emma Navarro (10) – Second on No.1 Court
Krejcikova came into her title defense only 3-3 this season, as she missed nearly six months of competition due to a back injury. Yet she has played well to this stage, winning a pair of three-setters in singles. And on Friday, Barbora and Hao-ching Chan upset the third seeds, Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, so Krejcikova’s return to the grounds of The All-England Club has obviously inspired her play.
Coming off a breakout 2024 season, Navarro is a solid if unspectacular 23-16 this year, and suffered a shockingly one-sided 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of Roland Garros. However, Emma has advanced easily through two rounds, allowing Petra Kvitova just four games in the two-time champion’s last Wimbledon, then allowing Veronika Kudermetova just three games. Navarro advanced to the quarterfinals here a year ago.
In their first career meeting, I give the slight edge to the defending champion. Krejcikova has rediscovered her form this week, at a tournament where she is also a two-time champion in ladies’ doubles. Plus, as per Tennis Abstract, Navarro is only 2-5 this year against top 20 opposition.
Iga Swiatek (8) vs. Danielle Collins – Second on Centre Court
These two players are not huge fans of each other. Last summer in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, Danielle pegged Iga in the ribs with the ball, with Iga later describing how she lost her breath for a moment. Collins would eventually retire down 4-1 in the third, and proceeded to scold Swiatek at the net, accusing her of being insincere regarding Collins’ injury.
In their rematch two months ago in Rome, Danielle beat Iga 6-1, 7-5, a loss which further shook Swiatek’s confidence ahead of her failed Roland Garros title defense. Overall Iga is 7-2 against Danielle, though the American’s other victory was also a notable one. Three years ago in Melbourne, Collins upset Swiatek in the semifinals, to reach Danielle’s sole Major final to date.
Iga is far from a grass court specialist, but she is now 5-1 on grass across the last two weeks, after advancing to the final of Bad Homburg. However, neither is Danielle, who lost her only grass court match in June, and is only 9-6 lifetime at Wimbledon. While Collins is certainly capable of outhitting Swiatek, I am going to favor Iga on this day, based on her recent success on this surface. And Swiatek was impressive in coming from a set down in the last round against Caty McNally, taking 12 of the last 15 games.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Fabio Cobolli (22) vs. Jakub Mensik (15) – Since winning his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami this past March, Mensik’s results have cooled off, as he looks to overcome an 0-3 record in the third round of Majors. That’s a record he shares with Cobolli, who at one point this season went on a seven-match losing streak, before winning a clay court title this past May in Hamburg. This is their first meeting at tour level, but they did play two years ago at Challenger level on a hard court, with Mensik prevailing after two tight sets.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Pedro Martinez – Sinner has lost only 12 games through six sets, and he’s a perfect 16-0 in the third round of Majors. Jannik is also 1-0 against Pedro, who is another player never to advance beyond this round at a Slam.
Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Novak Djokovic (6) – Djokovic dominated Great Britain’s Dan Evans in the last round, as he now looks for his 100th career victory at The Championships. Novak has claimed all three matches against his fellow Serbian, and Kecmanovic has already played nine sets through two rounds.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
