The WTA Tour's biggest names are prepping for a challenge, eyeing next Monday's start of the Wimbledon Grand Slam while watching the sport's dark horses dominate the grass court.
Wimbledon's 2023 champ Markéta Vondroušová stole the spotlight this weekend, as the injury-plagued Czech pro earned her first title in two years at the 2025 Berlin Open.
Even more, the world No. 91 player claimed the trophy in style, taking down top tennis stars like world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 6 Madison Keys, and No. 12 Diana Shnaider en route to besting China's No. 33 Wang Xinyu in Sunday's back-and-forth three-set final.
"I feel like it could not have been better for us here," the 25-year-old said after the win. "We were all working really hard to get me back [from an August 2024 shoulder surgery] and I felt like, you know, we came here to try to win the first match and now this is happening. So I'm just very grateful to be standing here."
Vondroušová will look to ride the weekend's momentum to a potential second Wimbledon trophy, a title that has so far eluded every player currently ranked in the WTA's Top 10 — including Sabalenka, No. 2 Coco Gauff, and No. 8 Iga Świątek.
Of the sport's current elite tier of players, only Italy's No. 4 Jasmine Paolini has appeared in the London Grand Slam's final, falling to Czechia's No. 17 Barbora Krejčíková in the 2024 title match.
The highest-ranked previous Wimbledon champion is Kazakhstan's No. 11 Elena Rybakina, who hoisted the trophy in 2022.
Newly minted 2025 French Open champion Coco Gauff saw a short-lived return to the court this week, with the world No. 2 exiting the 2025 Berlin Open in a straight-set, first-match loss on Thursday — Gauff's first contest since winning Roland-Garros.
The 21-year-old US star earned an automatic berth to the second round of the grass-court Wimbledon tune-up tournament, before falling to China's No. 49 Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-3 in the Round-of-16 matchup.
Gauff visibly struggled in Berlin after her breakthrough victory on clay, tallying 25 unforced errors and seven double faults in the two-set loss.
Despite the stumble, Gauff took this week's setback in stride, acknowledging that her trip to Berlin was "short but sweet" and promising to "come back stronger next year" in a social media post.
"It was a tough one today but happy to be back on court," Gauff wrote. "Tried my best to adjust with the quick turnaround but it wasn't enough. As always, I'm learning as I go so I hope to do better next time."
Seemingly unfazed as she eyes what is arguably her weakest Grand Slam, Gauff will aim to advance past Wimbledon's fourth round for the first time in her career when the London Slam starts later this month.
"I'm excited to get some more practices in to be ready for Wimbledon," she noted.
Wimbledon is leveling up, as the annual London-based Grand Slam announced Thursday that it's increasing its purse by 7% across the board in 2025, pushing the total prize money to £53.5 million ($72.59 million) ahead of tennis tournament's June 30th kick-off.
Both the 2025 women's and men's singles champions will earn winner's checks in the amount of £3 million ($4.07 million) — an 11.1% increase over the amount won by 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková.
With increases across all Slam events, from singles and doubles to wheelchair competitions, even athletes who stumble early will see a raise over last year's competition.
For example, singles players ousted in this year's first round will take home 10% more than in 2024, earning deposits of £66,000 ($89,530).
The 2025 total purse now doubles the prize money offered by the tournament a decade ago, and makes Wimbledon the biggest potential payday across all four of the sport's Grand Slams.
"We're immensely proud of the fact that, if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year," said All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club chair Deborah Jevans. "And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players."
World No. 2 Coco Gauff earned her second career Grand Slam title on Saturday, taking down No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a windy 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 battle to claim the 2025 French Open trophy.
Having reached the final once before in 2022, the 2025 championship made Gauff the first US player to win the French Open since Serena Williams did so in 2015.
"Losing in the finals here three years ago had created a lot of doubt in my head," the 21-year-old wrote on social media after her Roland Garros victory. "I thought my dreams were so close to happening but would never come true. So to be here…means absolutely everything."
Despite Sabalenka's championship match loss — a performance that saw the 27-year-old commit 70 unforced errors — she will retain the world No. 1 ranking thanks to a generally strong 2025 season so far.
Frustrated with her performance, Sabalenka faced backlash due to her emotional post-match comments on the loss — and, notably, on Gauff's level of play.
She later walked back those words on Sunday, clarifying in an Instagram story that "both things can be true… I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title."
Gauff, US standout No. 3 Jessica Pegula, and Italy's No. 4 Jasmine Paolini also maintained their WTA positions behind Sabalenka, with French Cinderella story Loïs Boisson skyrocketing 296 spots to No. 65 after her landmark semifinals run.
In contrast, four-time French Open champion Iga Świątek continues to dip, falling from No. 5 to No. 7 after last Thursday's semifinal loss to Sabalenka.
With two of the season's four majors in the books, the US is leading the charge, as Gauff joins reigning Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys as 2025's Grand Slam winners.