
Former World No.4 and retired Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic believes compatriot Ashleigh Barty has a great chance of winning Wimbledon, despite the latter recently withdrawing from the French Open due to injury.
“She’s got the type of game where she is aggressive, but she does not play extra risky tennis," said Dokic. "She has a lot more shape and safety, she has Plan B, C, D and E, I would even say.”
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Dokic is well-known for being the only qualifier to beat a World No.1 at Wimbledon, when she trounced Martina Hingis 6-2 6-0 in 1999, at the young age of 16. Nonetheless, she believes that Barty has the all-around game necessary to lift the title at the All England Club.
"Her game is so well suited to grass. And not just her game, but her head and her mindset, because she’s such a smart player,” said Dokic. "If it doesn’t work from the back, she can come in. She can mix it up. Also upset the rhythm of her opponents. Worst case scenario, she will still serve pretty well."
Although Barty was forced to withdraw from the French Open due to injury, Dokic believes that the World No.1 is still one of the favorites, provided she is fully healthy.
"If Ash is 100 per cent physically going into Wimbledon, which we don’t know, but if she is, I still give her a great chance of getting far into the tournament," added Dokic. “I think it’s just a matter of time before she goes really deep, and I actually wouldn’t be surprised if it happens this year, even with her injury and the uncertainty of it."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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mandoist12-11-2026 - I predicted whenthe list was finalised that Linda Noskova would win the WTA Finals and her matches against Gauff and Kostyuk prove that. She is the best (underrated) player in the world!Rapunzel11-11-2026
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mandoist08-11-2026 - Can't help but suspect Vukov is back to his old self again. Thank you, WTA. Perhaps you can give them a "Battling Couple of the Year Award 2026" ??
mandoist08-11-2026








