The 2024 Wimbledon semifinals feature three first-time semifinalists at the grass-court Grand Slam and a player who won the tournament just two years ago.
Top half Wimbledon semifinal: Barbora Krejcikova [31] vs. Elena Rybakina [4]
In the top half of the draw, two formidable women stand, each boasting Grand Slam titles. Barbora Krejcikova has captured one major singles title and an impressive ten in doubles, completing a career Golden Slam in women’s doubles. Her Wimbledon triumphs came in 2018 and 2022 in the doubles, while this singles run marks her best performance to date. Contrastingly, Elena Rybakina made a name for herself at this very venue in 2022, emerging as a surprise champion.
Krejcikova, seeded 31st this fortnight, has demonstrated resilience and tactical prowess en route to the semifinals. She started her campaign with a hard-fought victory over Veronika Kudermetova, winning 7-6(4) 6-7(1) 7-5. She continued her impressive run, most notably eliminating 11th seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round and recovering from 4-1 down in the second set to beat 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals. The victory over Ostapenko was a big one, as Krejcikova had lost the previous three matches she had played against the Latvian, and five of their seven prior meetings.
Krejcikova’s season has been challenging, marked by illness and injury. After reaching consecutive quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Abu Dhabi, the 2021 Roland Garros champion faced a two-month hiatus from February to April due to back injury and severe flu. Returning to competition, she had a breakthrough on grass at Birmingham, where she snapped a five-match losing streak by winning two matches and reaching the quarterfinals. This boosted her confidence for Wimbledon, where she achieved both singles and doubles quarterfinals at all Grand Slams and now advances to a major semifinal for the first time in over three years.
The fourth-seeded Rybakina played one three-set match on her path to the semifinals, against Laura Siegemund in the second round. In her other matches in London, the Kazakhstani secured straightforward victories, losing no more than three games per set against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Caroline Wozniacki, Anna Kalinskaya, and Elina Svitolina.
Despite Rybakina’s strong track record at Wimbledon (19-2 in main-draw matches) and her higher ranking and seeding, Krejcikova cannot be considered an underdog. With multiple Grand Slam titles to her name and a 2-0 head-to-head record against Rybakina, including victories in hard-fought three-set matches at the 2021 Grampians Trophy in Melbourne and the 2022 Ostrava semifinals, Krejcikova enters the match with confidence and a proven ability to overcome tough opponents on big stages.
Bottom half Wimbledon semifinal: Donna Vekic vs. Jasmine Paolini [7]
Playing her 43rd Grand Slam main-draw in the 12th year of her professional career, unseeded Donna Vekic advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal. The Croat staged a comeback victory to end the Wimbledon fairytale of New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, who was trying to become only the second qualifier to reach the ladies’ singles semifinals at The Championships. It was Vekic’s fourth three-setter out of five matches this fortnight.
After reaching her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros last month, Jasmine Paolini followed up the breakthrough achievement with the semifinals at Wimbledon, becoming the first Italian to achieve that feat.
Paolini cruised to a 6-2 6-1 victory over No.19 seed Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals, marking a standout season in which she has broken into the Top 10 singles ranking. At 28, she had never won a tour-level main draw match on grass before this year. However, after reaching the semifinals at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, she has matched that result at the All England Club following three previous first-round exits.
In this semifinal matchup, Paolini holds a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head record, having won their most recent encounter at Montreal in 2023. All their meetings were straight-setters, played on hard courts.
Both women’s singles semifinals will take place on Thursday.
