The Insider Wrap is a recap of everything you need to know from the week (or two) that was. After a water-logged first week disrupted the schedule, Wimbledon settled down with a memorable finish. Ultimately, it was Marketa Vondrousova stunning Ons Jabeur to win her first major championship.
Surprise of the Tournament: Marketa Vondrousova
With only one match-win at Wimbledon before this year, Marketa Vondrousova was content to play a few rounds and head home. Then came a straight-sets win over s’Hertogenbosch finalist Veronika Kudermetova. Then she knocked off Berlin finalist Donna Vekic.
With back-to-back wins over seeds, Vondrousova was off to the races. By the tournament’s end, the World No.42 would add three more seeded players to the heap to become the first unseeded champion in Wimbledon history. Her 6-4, 6-4 win against No.6 Ons Jabeur in the final was a masterclass in disciplined lockdown tennis.
Wimbledon reaction
At a time when the Hologic WTA Tour is dominated by power at the top, Vondrousova’s title run — at Wimbledon, no less — showed there’s still room for an intelligent web-weaver to serve as a foil.
Performance of the Tournament: Ons Jabeur
For a second consecutive Wimbledon, all signs pointed to the Tunisian coming through her third major final to join the Grand Slam champions club. Her trek to the final was a statement of intent and quality. She rallied from a set down to oust three major champions in Bianca Andreescu, No.3 Elena Rybakina and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, and routed No.9 Petra Kvitova. Jabeur was the first player to beat three Top 10 players at Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2012.
Honor Roll
Elina Svitolina: It took a historic effort from Vondrousova to stop Svitolina from being the surprise of Wimbledon. Coming off her quarterfinal run at the French Open, the Ukrainian beat Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka before executing an aggressive game plan to upset No.1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.
Svitolina was ranked outside the Top 1000 at Madrid. It took her just three months to get back inside the Top 30.
Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova: Fairytales are real. Strycova bid farewell to her favorite Slam by coming out of retirement to win it. Meanwhile, Hsieh has returned from her injury hiatus to casually win the Channel Slam.
Madison Keys: The American is back in the Top 20 after a fantastic grass season, winning Eastbourne and making her first Wimbledon…