Wimbledon 2025: A Grand Slam First in the Open Era for Women After Krejcikova's Exit

In this 2025 edition of Wimbledon, surprises abound in both draws. Many seeded players were eliminated before the second week, opening up the field for the favorites.

Among the women, six top-10 players were defeated before the round of 16, and on Saturday, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was also knocked out. Despite a strong fight, the Czech player, who had been sidelined for much of the season due to a back injury, ultimately fell to 10th seed Emma Navarro (2-6, 6-3, 6-4).

As a result, no matter what happens, the women's tournament will crown a first-time winner for the eighth consecutive edition. Since Serena Williams won her seventh title in London in 2016, every champion from 2017 onward had never won the tournament before.

This was the case for Garbiñe Muguruza (2017), Angelique Kerber (2018), Simona Halep (2019), Ashleigh Barty (2021), Elena Rybakina (2022), Marketa Vondrousova (2023), and, of course, Barbora Krejcikova (2024).

Moreover, with Krejcikova's early exit in the third round, the women's edition of Wimbledon has achieved a historic first in Grand Slam history during the Open Era.

Even before the round of 16 begins this Sunday, we are guaranteed to have two players who have never reached the final on London grass competing for the title on Saturday, July 12.

As noted by Jeu, Set et Maths on their X (formerly Twitter) account, never since 1968 have the round of 16 featured only players who had never previously reached the final of that same Grand Slam. This once again highlights how wide open the draw is after the first week's results.