"Great athletes always shine on grass": Martina Navratilova names Sabalenka & Gauff as top Wimbledon favorites

Martina Navratilova has offered her analysis on the favorites to win the Wimbledon title, naming world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as the top contender. The nine-time Wimbledon champion also added recent French Open champion Coco Gauff as the second name she sees with the best chances to potentially claim the title.

Sabalenka and Gauff recently faced each other in the Roland Garros final, which resulted in the American's second major title. Both will be the first and second seeds and will hope to meet again in a potential dream final. However, neither Sabalenka nor Gauff has reached a Wimbledon final previously.

Sabalenka, in fact, has only participated in two of the last four editions of Wimbledon: back in 2021 (semifinals) and 2023 (semifinals). In 2022, she missed the tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, while in 2024, an injury prevented her from appearing.

However, Sabalenka has reached at least the final in five of her last six Grand Slam main draw appearances and boasts a 53-6 record in major tournaments since early 2023. With no points to defend this week and no risk of losing the world No. 1 ranking, regardless of what happens, Martina Navratilova believes Sabalenka's game can perfectly adapt to the grass courts. "It's hard to think she's not the favorite this year. She's a complete player and has a good game for grass," Navratilova said. "It's hard to find a weakness or an opening against her. I'm wondering if losing the French Open final will actually help motivate her. I think she finds herself in a good spot."

On the other hand, she also put her money on Coco Gauff, even though the American has never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon and fell in her first grass-court match a week ago. "The great athletes always shine on grass. She’s the best athlete in the women’s game. That should pay off for her, and she’s flying high after winning the French Open. It’s just about managing her game, managing her body, her emotions. She’s found the happy medium, the equilibrium between being focused and fired up."

Furthermore, the 18-time Grand Slam champion still doesn't rule out Poland's Iga Swiatek, who has fallen significantly in the rankings to world No. 8 and hasn't reached a final in over a year. "Just the fact that she hits the ball so well gives her a chance. Backhand, solid as a rock. Forehand is good enough, even though it doesn’t pay off as much on the grass as it does on clay. We haven’t seen the draw, but hopefully, she won’t be in Sabalenka’s quarter."

Finally, Navratilova added the 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina as a player to watch. The Kazakh will be the 11th seed, meaning she is exposed to a tough path depending on the draw. From a potential fourth round, she could face Sabalenka or Gauff. "No weaknesses, good athlete. Not afraid to go forward and knock off the volley. She’s got soft enough hands to hit drop shots and plays really smart, high-percentage tennis. She reminds me of Lindsay Davenport, the effortless way she hits the ball. She’s not swinging hard, but it’s a heavy ball."