A short grass-court season has nevertheless been instructive, with several players showing impressive form on the lawns ahead of next week’s Wimbledon championships.
We present the players to watch at the All England Club, breaking down their grass-court records and reflecting on their previous history at the grass-court Grand Slam.
AUGER-ALIASSIME, Felix
Grass win-loss in 2021: 6-2
Best grass results in 2021: F Stuttgart; SF Halle
Wimbledon best performance: 3R 2019
The 20-year-old Canadian has shown an early fondness for grass and it’s been no different in 2021, with his trip to the Stuttgart final followed by a run to the semis in Halle. In that productive fortnight he notched impressive grass-court wins over Sam Querrey, Ugo Humbert and Roger Federer – the latter from a set down against his idol. His third-round run at Wimbledon was his best Slam result until reaching the second week at last year’s US Open.
BARTY, Ash
Grass win-loss in 2021: 0-0
Best grass results in 2021: N/A
Wimbledon best performance: 4R 2019
Although Barty has not played a match on grass in two years, it’s impossible to ignore the world No.1’s proficiency on the surface. Forced to withdraw from Roland Garros with an acute hip injury and skip all grass-court tune-ups, Barty appears to be progressing well in her training, from the “baby steps” of her 13 June hit-out to this higher-intensity session 10 days later. The Australian is 47-15 throughout her career on her favourite surface and comes into Wimbledon with confidence from winning three titles and compiling a brilliant 28-6 record in 2021.
READ MORE: Barty's Wimbledon dream could become reality, says Dokic
BERRETTINI, Matteo
Grass win-loss in 2021: 5-0
Best grass results in 2021: W Queen’s
Wimbledon best performance: 4R 2019
The world No.9 added the Queen’s title to his grass-court collection – he triumphed in Stuttgart in 2019 – and is considered one of the biggest threats to Wimbledon favourite Novak Djokovic. The Italian recently pushed Djokovic to four sets in the Roland Garros quarterfinals and has been in brilliant form in recent months, winning 18 of his past 21 matches and making a seamless transition from clay to grass. His huge serve, powerful forehand and improved slice backhand should all translate well to the lawns of the All England Club.
CILIC, Marin
Grass win-loss in 2021: 7-1
Best grass results in 2021: W Stuttgart, QF Queen’s
Wimbledon best performance: F 2017
A Wimbledon runner-up to Federer in 2017, world No.38 Cilic earned the 32nd and final seeding in the men’s draw – a relief to the other seeds in the field – and enters the event having won seven of eight grass-court matches leading in. His victory in Stuttgart was his first ATP title since he won Queen's three years earlier and it continues an impressive return to form for the 32-year-old, who is projected to meet No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev in the third round.
DE MINAUR, Alex
Grass win-loss in 2021: 8-2
Best grass results in 2021: W Eastbourne, SF Queen’s, QF Stuttgart
Wimbledon best performance: 3R 2018
The Australian men’s No.1 has been one of the most prolific performers on grass in 2021 and has improved with every grass-court event he has played. De Minaur has thrived since leaving the clay behind has all the weapons – aggressive, flat strokes, stellar movement and excellent net instincts – to improve upon his career-best showing at Wimbledon, where he will benefit from a top-16 seeding. His triumph in Eastbourne was his fifth career title, but first on grass.
DJOKOVIC, Novak
Grass win-loss in 2021: 0-0
Best grass results in 2021: N/A
Wimbledon best performance: W 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019
It’s nothing new for Djokovic to enter Wimbledon without a grass-court match under his belt. And he arrives brimming with confidence following an incredible victory at Roland Garros, which earned him a 19th Grand Slam singles title. The ambitious world No.1 is eyeing a potential Golden Grand Slam and will be favoured to take the next step towards that stratospheric accomplishment at the All England Club, where he is the two-time defending champion. (Note: he did play doubles at the ATP grass-court event in Mallorca this week, advancing to the final with Carlos Gomez-Herrera).
READ MORE: Wimbledon draw - Djokovic's tricky path to major title No.20
FEDERER, Roger
Grass win-loss in 2021: 1-1
Best grass results in 2021: 2R Halle
Wimbledon best performance: W 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017
His form might not be at its sharpest but you cannot discount Federer, whose eight Wimbledon singles titles are the most of any active player in the field. The 39-year-old Swiss showed glimpses of his shot-making class before fading to a three-set defeat against Auger-Aliassime on the grass courts of Halle, and he will also take encouragement from his recent run to the last 16 at Roland Garros.
READ MORE: Stars have to align for Federer at Wimbledon, says Woodbridge
JABEUR, Ons
Grass win-loss in 2021: 6-1
Best grass results in 2021: W Birmingham
Wimbledon best performance: 2R 2018
The 24th-ranked Tunisian looks primed to improve on her career-best showing at Wimbledon, thanks to her win at last week’s grass-court event in Birmingham. It was Jabeur’s first ever WTA title that breakthrough could free her up mentally as she looks to continue her impressive run of form; she has won nine of her past 11 matches and owns a tour-leading 29 match wins in 2021. She is also becoming a consistent performer at the Slams, reaching at least the third round at her past six – and advancing to the second week at three of those.
KERBER, Angelique
Grass win-loss in 2021: 6-1
Best grass results in 2021: W Bad Homburg
Wimbledon best performance: W 2018
Kerber has found form at the perfect time after a lean start 2021 season, winning the grass-court title on home soil in Bad Homburg – she scored a thrilling victory over another multiple major champion, Petra Kvitova, in the semis – for her first title since Wimbledon three years ago. She now looms as a threat to Serena Williams at the All England Club; Kerber and Williams are projected to meet in the third round.
KREJCIKOVA, Barbora
Grass win-loss in 2021: 0-0
Best grass results in 2021: N/A
Wimbledon best performance: Qualifying 2R 2017
Incredibly, the reigning Roland Garros champion has never played in the main draw at Wimbledon. And following her breakthrough in Paris, she skipped all grass-court lead-up events, meaning she is the ultimate unknown at SW19. It will be fascinating to see how the world No.17 will adapt her all-court game to grass, but she does have some experience at Wimbledon, having won the women’s doubles title in 2018.
MEDVEDEV, Daniil
Grass win-loss in 2021: 4-1
Best grass results in 2021: W Mallorca
Wimbledon best performance: 3R 2018, 2019
Throughout his young career Medvedev has shown a liking for grass; in 2017 he reached the quarterfinals at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Queen’s and the semifinals in Eastbourne, and he advanced to the semis at Queen’s in 2019. He took a step further this weekend with his first career title on the surface in Mallorca. Having won eight of his past 10 matches, the in-form Russian now aims to translate that lawn proficiency to the courts at Wimbledon, where he faces a tough opener against Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat him in the first round in Halle.
OSTAPENKO, Jelena
Grass win-loss in 2021: 6-1
Best grass results in 2021: W Eastbourne
Wimbledon best performance: SF 2018
Ostapenko powered her way past a succession of quality opponents to win the Eastbourne title at the weekend – her first title since 2019 and the biggest of her career behind Roland Garros. The former world No.5, currently ranked 43rd, will hope to carry that form into Wimbledon, where she has a history of great results dating back to her junior singles triumph in 2014.
WILLIAMS, Serena
Grass win-loss in 2021: 0-0
Best grass results in 2021: N/A
Wimbledon best performance: W 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016
Williams, as is customary, has not played any matches on grass leading up to Wimbledon, but it’s a tried-and-true formula for the American legend, who owns seven singles titles at the All England Club. She is one of the few top players not coming into the tournament under an injury cloud and like fellow superstar Federer will take confidence from her fourth-round run at Roland Garros following little preparation. Williams has reached the final in her past two visits to Wimbledon, in 2018 and 2019.
Honorable mentions
HUMBERT, Ugo
The Halle champion, also a Stuttgart quarterfinalist, is a top-25 debutant and takes a six-match winning streak to Wimbledon, where he faces Nick Kyrgios.
KASATKINA, Daria
A Wimbledon quarterfinalist three years ago, the No.31 seed reached the Birmingham final and the quarters in Eastbourne, where she nearly beat Ostapenko.
KONTA, Johanna
Konta’s love of grass continued with her recent WTA title in Nottingham, but the 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist now carries a knee injury to SW19.
KVITOVA, Petra
The two-time Wimbledon champion showed encouraging signs in her return from an ankle injury by reaching the semis on grass in Bad Homburg earlier this week.
KYRGIOS, Nick
Playing for the first time since AO 2021 nearly five months ago, Kyrgios loves grass and, helped by a booming serve, has a track-record of Wimbledon success.
QUERREY, Sam
A semifinalist in Stuttgart and finalist in Mallorca, Querrey takes grass-court form into Wimbledon, where he reached the semifinals in 2017.
RUBLEV, Andrey
The Halle finalist is looking to improve on his limited record at Wimbledon, where he is yet to clear the second round.
RYBAKINA, Elena
The Roland Garros quarterfinalist’s big serve and flat powerful drives have translated well to grass; she reached the Eastbourne semis and has won eight of her past 11 matches.
SAMSONOVA, Liudmila
The young Russian won seven matches to win the WTA 500 title in Berlin as a qualifier, and earned a Wimbledon wildcard as a reward.