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Sabalenka can make up for 2022 'ban'
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Concerns over defending champ's fitness
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Strong case for Paris runner-up Muchova
Top seed Swiatek yet to survive Last 16 at SW19
• Unlike the men's game, in which one player stands high above the rest going into Wimbledon fortnight, the women's scene appears to have many more potential champions.
• This is borne out by the fact that the last five tournaments at SW19 have produced nine different finalists.
• Despite world No 1 Iga Swiatek winning a fourth Grand Slam title a few weeks ago, three of these victories have taken place on the clay of Roland Garros. So while the 22-year-old Pole will head into the tournament as the player to beat, her position of dominance is nowhere near as strong as that of men's favourite Novak Djokovic.
• Swiatek is yet to reach a Wimbledon quarter-final, although she did win the junior title on grass five years ago.
Sabalenka a serious challenger
• Aryna Sabalenka, who was not permitted to participate last year due to her Belarussian nationality, is certainly a leading contender. She has the confidence of knowing she's already won a Slam singles title this year and on her last appearance at Wimbledon in 2021 reached the semi-finals;
• The defending champion Elena Rybakina has slipped quietly into the world's top five and is a major threat to win back-to-back crowns. The six-foot tall, 24-year-old, from Kazakhstan had to pull out of the French Open because of a virus, so the big question is: 'Has she recovered sufficiently to perform at 100% in London?' She was due to return to action at Eastbourne this week but pulled out on the advice from her medical team.
Latest betting for the women's singles at Wimbledon
• Crowd favourite Ons Jabeur returns, as she seeks a first Grand Slam title. The 28-year-old lost in the final last year - after taking the opening set - and she reached the quarter-finals in Paris in early June.
• The 19-year-old American, Cori Gauff, has twice reached the Last 16 at SW19 and is gaining experience all the time. However, her only WTA Tour trophy so far this year, arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, during the first week of January.
'Outsiders' who should feel confident
• Outside of the top five or six ranked players, punters may wish to examine a number of other contenders for Wimbledon. Still ranked inside the world's top 10 is 33-year-old, two-time champion at SW19, Petra Kvitova who won the prestigious Miami tournament earlier this year.
• And former French Open winners Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova will fancy their chances too. Ostapenko has won two grass court events on Tour (and is currently participating at Eastbourne), including the recent Rothesay Classic in Birmingham where she beat Krejcikova in the final;
• This year's French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova is a two-time quarter-finalist at SW19.
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Latest betting for the men's singles at Wimbledon