Wimbledon 2016 women's seed report

Jon Wertheim breaks down the women's seeds at the 2016 French Open and makes his picks for winners, losers and dark horses of the tournament.

Author:
Jon Wertheim
Publish date:
Jun 24, 2016

SI.com's Jon Wertheim breaks down the women's seeds at the French Open. Read on for the dark horses, top first-round matchups and predictions, and find the men's seed report here.

1 Serena Williams

Well, it’s been an interesting ride since Wimbledon 2015. She’s lost her last three Slams, often beset by nerves. She claims that she’s ready to defend her title. And, in fact, wishes the tournament had started last week. And who are we to disagree? Despite a fairly tough draw quadrant, she’s our (admittedly boring) pick.

2 Garbiñe Muguruza

A finalist last year against Serena. A winner at the last Slam against Serena. I wouldn’t read too much into her shortcomings at the tune-ups. The WTA’s new It Girl (and deservedly so), we’ll get a glimpse of her emotional stamina, based on her performance. Starts against streaky Camila Giorgi.

• The casual tennis fan’s guide to Wimbledon 2016

Seeds 3-16 (Basically interchangeable in terms of odds)

3 Agnieszka Radwanska

Came within a few points of winning Wimbledon. But that was four years ago. Since then she’s been a bit unreliable, especially in the latter rounds of majors. Always fun to watch. Seldom fun to (metaphorically) predict her performance.

4 Angelique Kerber

Credit her for that Australian Open title. But since then, it’s been awfully quiet. Needs only to win her first match to exceed her play in Paris. Still, it would be an achievement if she simply lived up to her seeding and made the semis. Interesting first round rounder against Robson.

5 Simona Halep

Harsh as this will sound, we’ve sort of entered the what-have-you-done-for-us-lately zone. A top five player for several years now, but the natives are growing restless.

6 Roberta Vinci

The Italian was bumped up a spot due to Victoria Azarenka’s withdrawal. Again; credit Vinci for building on the Serena takedown at the 2015 U.S. Open and not letting it define her career. And she can play on grass.

7 Belinda Bencic

A lot of game but the former Wimbledon junior champ is still in search of that Grand Slam breakthrough.

8 Venus Williams

Former champion is always a threat, especially on grass. Was it really 16 years ago that she first broke through at the All England Club? The power and grass court game is there; it’s a question of fighting through the bad days. Love the prospect of a Venus-Mugu quarter.

• How a sportsmanship lesson helped shape Federer's new fashion line

9 Madison Keys

Congrats to the newest member of the Top 10.

10 Petra Kvitova

Hard to imagine a two-time champ coming in with less fanfare. A mysterious, erratic player comes in with a shaky loss in Eastbourne to Jo Konta. On the other hand, she’s due. Look for her late in Round two.

11 Timea Bacsinszky

She’s Bac. A quarterfinalist last year (and in Paris a few weeks ago) Bacsinszky shows up for the big events. Lots of native talent but you wish she came to the party with 10% more power.

12 Carla Suarez Navarro

Reaching the middle weekend would be a fine showing. Possible fourth rounder against Venus intrigues.

13 Svetlana Kuznetsova

Somehow her erratic play always strikes as more endearing than annoying. Who knows? Even in her 30s she can play with anyone. Provided she feels like showing up.

• Mailbag: We haven't seen the last of Maria Sharapova

14 Sam Stosur

The anti-Feliciano Lopez. She’s the Aussie who thrives on clay but hates the grass. Her looping strokes require more time than the grass is willing to provide.