PA Media/DPA
London
A new name will be on the Wimbledon women’s title for the eighth successive tournament after defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and 2022 winner Elena Rybakina were knocked out in the third round.
Krejcikova had her blood pressure taken on court during a medical timeout in the deciding set of her 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to 10th seed Emma Navarro.
The 29-year-old Czech player, who beat Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 final, appeared visibly distressed for the remainder of the match.
She was frequently bent over with her hands on her knees before being in tears at the back of the court ahead of the final two games.
Not since Serena Williams lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish for the seventh and final time in 2016 has a female former champion triumphed at the All England Club.
In contrast, there have only been five different winners of the men’s competition - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Carlos Alcaraz - during the past 22 years.
Rybakina earlier suffered a rain-delayed 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 upset against 22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson.
The 11th seed made 31 unforced errors across the contest, including sending a straightforward forehand long on match point.
“Grass is very unpredictable, it’s very short season, not everyone gets to adjust quick,” she said.
“No one won it (the title) more than once lately. Hopefully it’s going to happen soon but it’s just very different from all the other surfaces.”
Tauson’s reward for one of the biggest wins of her career is a last-16 meeting with five-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek, who beat Danielle Collins in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Swiatek, who reached her first final since last year’s French Open on grass in Bad Homburg last weekend, is happy to have found her feet, saying: “I was just in the zone. I knew how I wanted to play and I knew I needed to be brave.
Teenage seventh seed Mirra Andreeva awaits Navarro after she rushed into round four with a straight-sets win over American world number 55 Hailey Baptiste.
With inclement conditions temporarily halting play on the outer courts, the 18-year-old Russian cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory under the Court One roof.
Aside from world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who overcame Britain’s Emma Raducanu on Friday evening, Andreeva is the highest seeded player remaining in the women’s draw following a series of upsets across week one.
Liudmila Samsonova joins compatriot Andreeva in the second week after hitting a monster serve of 128 miles per hour in her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Daria Kasatkina.
Samsonova’s effort was just short of the Wimbledon women’s record of 129mph - set by Venus Williams in 2008.
Kasatkina trailed 6-2, 2-0 when play was temporarily halted by rain and could not mount a comeback.
Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in three sets to set up a clash with Samsonova.
Belinda Bencic came from a break down in the third set against Elisabetta Cocciaretto to win the second-longest women’s match of this year’s Wimbledon.
