Preview 2024 Wimbledon Women's Final as back-to-back Grand Slam finalist Paolini faces former Roland Garros champion Krejcikova

The 2024 Wimbledon Women's Final is upon us with a new champion set to be crowned and the favourite for the title if she wins will be a new Grand Slam champion as Jasmine Paolini faces Barbora Krejcikova on Saturday afternoon at SW19.

It has been a long tournament with a lot of the big names falling early including Aryna Sabalenka even before the tournament began, Coco Gauff to Emma Navarro, Iga Swiatek lost to Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina was a surprise loss when it looked like the title was there for the taking against Krejcikova.

But for Paolini in particular, it is again continued progression and it is another Grand Slam final and a big chance to achieve her destiny in the best season of her career. Our preview looks ahead to the final which will take place at around 15 CET on Saturday afternoon.

Jasmine Paolini at the age of 28 is reaching her tennis prime and has been utterly superb in the past six months. She has shown also that she isn't a flash in the pan. Winning Dubai by defeating Anna Kalinskaya could've been seen by some as a one off with the Italian previously winning titles but sometimes stringing together a tournament win on a good week is hard to continue and maintain.

But she did just that. Facing some adversity in not really capitalising initially during the clay court season, she did the reverse of Danielle Collins and co who peaked during the warm-up tournaments and went under the radar by not really playing to her best. Albeit she was well beaten in the Roland Garros final, her tournament saw her stock rise and she went into the top eight of the rankings for the first time. She has already bookended a spot in the top five as a result of this and sits third in the WTA Race. Likely to make her debut in Riyadh at this point, she has taken her chance to the letter especially again like at the Australian Open where she lost to familiar foe Anna Kalinskaya, she was part of a section which was gutted when Azarenka and Sabalenka had to withdraw.

Gauff losing also opened it up but it is often like the American proved in being defeated up to the player to then deliver the goods when they have the pressure thrust onto them. The Italian who has been a real pugnacious pocket rocket and a joy to watch this season will go into her match against Krejcikova as favourite. Something she is not used to and especially given her opponent is a Grand Slam champion.

Also given that her opponent won more emphatically than she did in the semi-finals with a last gasp win over Donna Vekic in a deciding tie break. But in a tournament where she has defeated a slew of top names, it is one test usually that stands a player in good stead and she will hope it is the Vekic match.

Like alluded to, she sealed wins over Emma Navarro, Madison Keys in a walkover, Bianca Andreescu who again has been a familiar foe and also Greet Minnen so it hasn't been a walk in the park. It is a testament to the real guile and court craft of Paolini that she has managed to grit her teeth and find a way through a tough route to the final. It would be befitting now of an epic season for her to win her maiden Grand Slam final.

Barbora Krejcikova who faces her is the 31st seed at this tournament and has really had to toil since becoming Roland Garros champion in that crazy year of 2021. Her seeding shows that and three years later, she has hit rock bottom and come back.

She will aim to make it back-to-back Czech winners and become a two-time Grand Slam champion almost out of nowhere a bit like Marketa Vondrousova last year who won the title. Krejcikova has battled injury and a myriad of health issues which have derailed her.

She will also feel fairly hard done by and has admitted as much herself that she believed she should've been up there with the so-called Big Three of Swiatek, Sabalenka and Swiatek and should've been given the status she deserves. One way of proving that is to win a second Grand Slam title and she could do just that over the next day at Wimbledon and also show herself as being a multi faceted tennis player who can play on a myriad of different surfaces. She has already shown it on hard courts too with titles on that surface but Krejcikova who is perenially underrated could have more titles than most of the top 10 (more than Gauff, Rybakina among others) and join a select group with multiple Grand Slam titles.

An underdog story and one that very much is in keeping with Krejcikova who was dismissed by some against an epic Jelena Ostapenko then against Elena Rybakina. But she proved that she is a force and one to beat in the final. Can she do it again?

It hasn't been easy either. She has defeated a top grass player in Veronika Kudermetova albeit a faded force right now. But also a real rising star in Katie Volynets then Jessica Bouzas Maneiro through walkover who defeated Marketa Vondrousova the round prior. Danielle Collins next followed by Ostapenko like alluded to. Then the favourite for the title in the eyes of many in Elena Rybakina. It has been a title if she wins it that has been done firmly on merit. But can she topple the never say die attitude of Paolini?

Head to Head wise and likely due to their projections atop the rankings at different times, they have never played in a main draw match. Their only meeting interestingly came back in 2018 in a qualifier for the Australian Open. Neither player had cracked the top 100 at that point.

On recent form, Paolini goes in as favourite. She has won more Grand Slam matches than anyone on tour this season 15 in all. Of her eight losses, only two have came against players outside the top 30. She also reached a final more recently on grass at Eastbourne. But Krejcikova has won a Grand Slam final before so knows what she is doing and perhaps goes in with the knowledge on how to get over the line.

By making the final, Paolini and Krejcikova have assured themselves 1,300 points and £1,400,000. The winner will earn 2,000 points and £2,700,000.

Currently Paolini is fifth and will stay that way even if she wins as per the updated ranking below as of the final. She has risen two spots and as of right now will go into a career high ranking of World Number Five.

While Krejcikova who used to be World Number Two has gone up a whopping 18 spots over the course of the tournament back into the top 15. If she wins the title she will usurp Ostapenko back into the top 10 so overall a lot more at stake for the Czech ace than Paolini.

The history of the Women's Wimbledon Final is marked by iconic matches and legendary champions who have left an indelible mark on the sport. Since the 1990s, the tournament has seen an array of extraordinary talent, with players like Steffi Graf, who dominated the early '90s with her powerful game, and Martina Navratilova, who added another title to her illustrious career in 1990.

The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, became a dominant force in the 2000s, with Serena winning multiple titles and setting new records for Grand Slam victories. The finals have also been a stage for remarkable comebacks and breakthroughs, such as Maria Sharapova's stunning victory in 2004 and Petra Kvitová's powerful performances.

Recent years have continued this tradition of excellence, with champions like Simona Halep, Ashleigh Barty, and Markéta Vondroušová showcasing their skills on the prestigious grass courts. The Women's Wimbledon Final remains one of the most anticipated events in tennis, celebrated for its high-level competition and historic moments.