Wimbledon 2016: Old guard march on in women’s game as young guns stutter

Feeling the heat: Petra Kvitova during her second-round exit
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Giuseppe Muro4 July 2016

The search for a new generation of stars in women’s tennis seems to be floundering, with just five players under the age of 27 reaching the second week at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams is still the best player in the world at 34 and the first week of the tournament highlighted the lack of young rivals ready to challenge her sustained supremacy.

Garbine Muguruza showed the others the way by beating Serena to win the French Open but the new breed are struggling to make their mark at the top of the sport.

Just two of the last 10 Grand Slams were won by women under the age of 25. Muguruza was 22 when she triumphed at Roland Garros this year and Petra Kvitova was 24 when she won Wimbledon in 2014.

Of the last seven players to have a won a Grand Slam other than Serena, four are no longer on the tour. Marion Bartoli, Li Na and Flavia Pennetta have retired, while Maria Sharapova is serving a two-year ban after failing a drugs test.

Kvitova, the other player to win a major during a period of Serena dominance, has struggled with her form and lost in the second round at Wimbledon this year.

Young players have fallen short at SW19 and the old guard have dominated.

Even without 29-year-old Sharapova, who would have been expected to go deep into the tournament, eleven players in the last 16 are 27 or over.

The top match in the fourth round is between Serena and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who are both in their 30s.

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The two were playing each other on Centre Court today and Kuznetsova, 31, says it is up to the next generation of players to usher a changing of the guard.

“Young girls have to step up to be as good as Serena,” said the 13th seed. “She is No1 and dominating. I have seen her for so many years winning tournaments. I have heard sometimes that you are a veteran if you are over 30 but Serena is a great example for everyone out there.”

Muguruza is seen as someone who could one day take over from Serena but she crashed out in the second round.

The Spaniard said she was tired after her French Open win, which shows how hard it might be for a player to deliver sustained success while Serena is around.

Serena, who made her pro debut in 1995, is on 21 Grand Slam singles titles and wants to stay in tennis long enough to overhaul Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22.

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