The women’s professional tennis scene seems to become increasingly competitive as the years pass. Since the 2000s domination by the Williams sisters, the Grand Slam titles have rarely been retained and first-time winners have often been crowned.
In 2024 several high-calibre players will be bidding to become maiden champions in arguably the toughest era of the sport. History shows that at least one brand new winner makes their name in most years, although it is not always the star that most expect.
Here we will look at the leading women’s stars who are yet to secure Grand Slam success but could have strong chances of doing so in the remaining major events of the year.
Jessica Pegula
Jessica Pegula has reached the quarter-final in five of the last nine Grand Slam tournaments. This is evidence that she is quickly emerging as a serious contender for major glory. According to betting on sports, her greatest chance of success will come in the US Open this year as she is offered at 14/1 to finally win a Grand Slam.
The sports betting guides suggest that Pegula will have to settle for being a potential dark horse across the major events yet to arrive this year. Several notable players are included in the favourites for each including Arnya Sabalenka, although when it comes to potential maiden winners, the American is by far the greatest hope of a new champion.
Your last eight in Adelaide ?
[1] Rybakina vs. Alexandrova
Kostyuk vs. [6] OstapenkoSiegemund vs. Kasatkina
[Q] Pavlyuchenkova vs. [2] Pegula#AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/qNI3UFAZmP— wta (@WTA) January 10, 2024
While Pegula’s most realistic chances will arrive in the final major of 2024 on home soil, she also represents a strong pick in the preceding Wimbledon tournament across the Atlantic. She is offered at 16/1 to go all of the way at the British venue and her 2023 run to the last eight will have certainly provided her with vital experience.
Her potential Roland-Garros participation is unclear as she could skip the French leg of the tour to prepare for the second half of the year. However, she can certainly have realistic hopes of finally breaking her major duck during 2024 regardless.
Karolina Muchova
Karolina Muchova came agonisingly close to securing career-first Grand Slam success last year – she reached the final of the French Open and the final four of the US Open. Those two events are still to come this year meaning she could build on her headline-making experiences of 2023 to potentially nail career-defining glory.
The Czech player’s strongest chance of winning a major title this year is predicted to arrive in the US Open, where she is offered at 25/1 to beat the likes of Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka to one of the most coveted prizes on the calendar.
Muchova is predicted to have an identical chance of becoming a major champion at Wimbledon However, she has failed to bypass the first round in the past two editions of the event which means a strong run on North American territory is much more foreseeable.
What a debut! ?
In her first year in the desert, @karomuchova7 takes out compatriot Vondrousova 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4 to book a ticket to the final eight.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/vnUJGMkdf7
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 15, 2023
Replicating last year’s French Open path to the final will contrastingly be an almost impossible task, due to the modern dominance of the high-ranked players at Roland-Garros.
Ultimately, Pegula and Muchova are by no means expected to achieve glory at some point during the Grand Slam schedule. However, upsets happen almost every year in women’s tennis and the pair are the most likely major-less players to win one of the remaining events of 2024.
