Predicted 2023 Wimbledon Champions

Who will be crowned 2023 Wimbledon Champion in both the Gentlemen's and Ladies tournaments?

2022 Wimbledon Champions Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina at last years Champions Dinner. (Credit: AELTC/Thomas Lovelock)

Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis tournament on the calendar and the 2023 instalment sees ranking points with Russian and Belarussian players returning to the tournament. With 256 players across the Gentlemen's and Ladies draws, only 2 players can hold the champions trophy aloft in 2 weeks' time. Will this year lead to Novak Djokovic equalling Roger Federer's 8 titles? Can Elena Rybakina overcome less than ideal preparation to defend her title in SW19? Could world number 1's Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek win their first grass court grand slam? I will attempt to answer these questions in the first ever article of Ollies Takes.

Ladies Singles

The Women's competition at Wimbledon has lately produced new champions with the 5 most recent championships being first-time winners at the Championships. The 2023 edition, again is relatively open with many players having the opportunity to lift the gold plated dish in two Saturday's time.

Elena Rybakina holds the Venus Rosewater Dish after winning the 2022 Championships. (Credit: AP Photo/Kristy Wigglesworth)

2022 champion Elena Rybakina will have to overcome relatively poor preparation to defend her title. Rybakina, who came from behind in last year's final to defeat Ons Jabeur, withdrew from Roland Garros last month due to a virus infection. In her pre-tournament press conference at Eastbourne, Rybakina admitted to still feeling the effects of the virus and went onto withdraw from the tournament hours before her first round match. Having lost to world number 23, Donna Vekic the previous week in Berlin, Rybakina has had a less than ideal preparation for the championships. Having said that, should Rybakina make it through the first week of the tournament, she will be very tough to beat in the second week of the tournament. Do I think she will win it? I think she absolutely has a chance but she will not be my pick for the 2023 title.

Ons Jabeur almost became the first Arab and African woman to win a grand slam in the open era at the 2022 championships after letting a one-set to love lead dissipate in last year's final. Jabeur has had a tough 2023 to date and has struggled in the lead-up tournaments. However, as we saw last year, Jabeur is well suited to grass court tennis with great variety in her game. Recent past champions such as Ash Barty, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Elena Rybakina all used their ability to mix it up in helping them lift the trophy. An attribute that is so important on the grass, and a quality that Ons Jabeur possesses which is why I think she will be in the mix to win the title.

Last month's French Open Champion and world number 1, Iga Swiatek enters Wimbledon as the hot favourite. The 22 year old has been indisputably the best womens player for the last 4 years having won 4 grand slams but the grass is not the Polish champion's favourite surface having only made it to fourth round once in her career. Despite her game not being suited to the grass, Swiatek will be tough to beat as always.

Petra Kvitova has had success at SW19 having won the 2011 and 2014 title. Kvitova has returned to her best this year having won titles in Miami and on the grass at Berlin. Kvitova enters the tournament relatively fresh after withdrawing from Eastbourne to focus on her Wimbledon prep and in very good form having beaten Caroline Garcia, Donna Vekic and Karolina Pliskova on her way to the title in Berlin last week. Despite Kvitova only making it out of the first week of a grand slam once in her last 10 majors, having won the Championships twice in the past and returning to her best this year, Petra Kvitova is my pick for the 2023 Ladies Title.

Other suitors who will be thereabouts for the title include Aryna Sabalenka, who's power on the grass will make her a very difficult opponent and Coco Gauff, someone who has played well at Wimbledon in the past.

Predicted Ladies Champion: Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova winning her second Wimbledon title in 2014. (Credit: AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Gentlemen's Singles

The Men's side of the draw at Wimbledon has been dominated by the "big 4" since 2002 with Novak Djokovic winning the last 4 titles. The Serb enters the tournament as the heavy favourite but other suitors include world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz, last year's finalist Nick Kyrgios and young Italian Jannick Sinner.

2022 Wimbledon Champion, Novak Djokovic celebrates his 7th title after beating Australian Nick Kyrgios. (Credit: AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Novak Djokovic will complete his quest for the Calendar Grand Slam by winning the final two majors of 2023. A feat that is the only thing left to complete on the Serb's resume. Having won a record 23rd Grand Slam at Roland Garros last month, the Djoker will try to win 3 grand slams in a year for a remarkable 4th time. Djokovic has not played a match since winning the French but due to his incredible grand slam tie-break record and not losing at Wimbledon since 2017, the Serbian will be very tough to beat and my uncontroversial pick for the title. The only thing that can stop Djokovic from winning his 24th Grand Slam will be an injury.

World number 1 Carlos Alcaraz enters the tournament as the second favourite and just won his first grass court title at Queens last week. Alcaraz has a 4-2 win-loss record at Wimbledon but has the flair and natural talent to compete on the surface. Alcaraz knocked off strong grass court player Alex de Minaur to show he is a genuine threat to Djokovic's Wimbledon strangle hold. Alcaraz is en route to meet Holger Rune in the quarter finals, someone who historically is also not suited to the grass. I think with Alcaraz's recent win and overall form in the last 12 months, he will make the final but overall, Djokovic will be better in the big moments, much like we saw at the French Open.

Last year's finalist Nick Kyrgios has only played one match in 2023 in his return match at Stuttgart a few weeks ago where he lost to up and coming Chinese Star Wu Yibing. With arguably the best serve on the tour, Kyrgios should has never required too much match practise to be at his best however, I think he will be relatively underdone due to a lack of preparation and will be beaten in the first week of the tournament. As an Aussie and someone that loves to see entertaining Kyrgios, I would love to see Nick back to his best like last year's Wimbledon but I think his best may not come until the US Open later this year.

The rest of the mens draw is relatively open. Players such as Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur and Jannick Sinner will stake their claim and be tough to beat particularly if they make it through to the second week of the tournament. Matteo Berrettini has struggled in 2023 and will need to regain some of the form that saw him make the 2021 final.

Predicted Champion: Unsurprisingly Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic celebrates his 6th Wimbledon title after beating Matteo Berrettini in the Final. (Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Wimbledon kicks off Monday 3rd July at 8pm AEST, shown in Australia on Channel 9, the 9Now App and Stan Sport.