The women’s singles draw was further disrupted big time on Wednesday as 2024 runner-up and fourth seed Jasmine Paolini joined the exit list. With that result, seeds [2], [3], [4], [5] are already out of the reckoning at SW19 this year at Wimbledon’s, with Aryna Sabalenka the sole survivor among the top five even before round two is complete. According to Opta, the fact that only one of the top-5 seeded players will be active in the Round of 32 in a Women’s Singles Grand Slam event is happening only for the second time in the Open Era after Wimbledon 2018.
Paolini, after losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in the second round, joins No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 5 Zheng Qinwen in making a quick departure from the All England Club, with the other three having all lost in the first round. Paolini lost in the final of both the French Open and Wimbledon last year but has not been past the fourth round in the four majors since. Rakhimova is making her second Wimbledon appearance, having lost in the first round in 2023. In all, the 23-year-old Russian has only made the third round twice in 13 previous majors. This was her first win against a top-10 ranked player.
A monumental performance 💥
Kamilla Rakhimova defeats No.4 seed Jasmine Paolini with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to book her spot in the third round 3️⃣#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/4exvENOgRF
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2025
Alcaraz’s channel run
Over the last couple of years, Carlos Alcaraz has enjoyed his time ‘across the channel’ as the tennis adage goes, shining bright both at French Open and Wimbledon. After completing a double at Roland Garros, he’s gunning for three in a row in London. Which means he has not lost across the year’s two middle Slams for more than two years now, winning 30 matches in a row. According to Opta, Alcaraz – at 22y 56d – has now become the youngest player in the Open Era to claim 30+ consecutive Men’s Singles match wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. It should come as no surprise that he surpassed Bjorn Borg (22y 356d) for this record, as the Swedish great was a master across the channel too, winning four straight French Open and five straight Wimbledon titles during his career. Alcaraz is also the youngest player to claim 20+ consecutive match wins at ATP level since Juan Martin del Potro (19y 336d) in 2008.
Tiafoe offers explanation
A total of 23 seeds — 13 men, 10 women — had already failed to get to the second round, equaling the highest total at any Grand Slam tournament since they began assigning 32 seeds in each singles bracket in 2001. American Frances Tiafoe became yet another seeded casualty but said no one should be surprised at the number of top names to depart in the men’s singles.
Thirteen of the top 32 men’s seeds failed to survive the first round this year — a Wimbledon record — and although Tiafoe managed to avoid that fate, he was then beaten 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-5 by Britain’s 61st-ranked Cameron Norrie. Tiafoe, twice a U.S. Open semi-finalist, said the depth in the men’s game now meant the days of being able to cruise through the early rounds of Grand Slams was over, adding that Wimbledon was especially treacherous.
“I mean, grass is a tricky surface. The game is getting much deeper. You have to think, not so long ago Cam (Norrie) made the semi-finals here, and now I’m playing him the second round,” the 27-year-old told reporters. “You have floaters like that, and then you have some young guys playing well. The game is just really tough. It’s not like how it used to be where you can kind of, I mean, quote, unquote, get to your seedings (spot) easier. Now a lot of guys you don’t even know come out and play, and by the time you know it you find yourself battling deep in the fourth and fifth. The game has incredible depth right now. If you’re not ready to go, you’re going to lose.”
(with agency inputs)
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
