Barbora Krejcikova’s defeat to Emma Navarro continues Wimbledon’s unique streak in women’s tennis

Wimbledon 2025 is entering its business end, with the remaining players battling it out to secure the ultimate prize. From the start of the competition, there have been many surprising results, especially in the women’s singles category.

On Saturday, there was another one added to that list where America’s Emma Navarro defeated the defending champion, the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova, in the third round with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. With that result, it was confirmed that there will be a new Wimbledon women's champion for the ninth consecutive year.

The streak started in 2016 when the former world number one Serena Williams lifted the title after beating Angelique Kerber in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3. The following year, Serena was forced to withdraw from the competition due to pregnancy. In 2017, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza lifted the title after beating Serena’s sister, Venus Williams, in the final. However, in 2018, Muguruza lost in the second round to Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck. That year, it was Kerber's turn to take revenge for her 2016 final defeat to Serena, as she got the better of her opponent at the same place in the exact match and lifted the Wimbledon title.

In 2019, Kerber’s journey ended in the second round as she lost to America’s Lauren Davis. Former world number one Simona Halep ended up lifting the Wimbledon title that year as she defeated Serena in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. There was no Wimbledon in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and Halep ultimately withdrew from the 2021 edition because of a calf injury. Australia’s Ashleigh Barty ended up winning that edition of Wimbledon after beating the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova in the final.

The following year, Barty did not feature at Wimbledon, as she had announced her retirement in March of that year. Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina won the Wimbledon title in 2022 after beating Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. Rybakina, next year, lost in the quarterfinals to the same opponent. In 2023, Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic lifted the title after beating Jabeur in the final, but in 2024, she lost in the first round to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.