Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – June 4, 2022 Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning the women’s singles final match against Cori Gauff of the U.S. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) – A key element of the appeal of any sport is the presence of a dominant figure – a benchmark to which others aspire – and in this respect women’s tennis has been fortunate to have Serena Williams as its figurehead.

But with the American in her 41st year and back at Wimbledon for a potential farewell after a year away, the worry is whether a player can fill her shoes.

As the All England Club prepares to open its doors, Poland’s Iga Swiatek looks set to be the one to lead women’s football into a new era.

Dominance can only really be measured over an extended period of time and anyone is unlikely to come close to the type of stats compiled by Williams.

Between 2010 and 2019, according to the WTA, she won 89.3% of her matches, won 37 titles and spent 196 weeks as world number one – more than the next two combined – winning 12 of her 23 Grand Slam and reached the finals of 19 of the 33 major tournaments in which she participated during this period.

Wimbledon skipper Naomi Osaka of Japan threatened to take control with four Grand Slam titles in just over three years but has since slipped into the pack as she battles the pressures of stardom.

So those predicting that Swiatek is indeed the real deal may want to reflect on the pitfalls that await him in a sport in which the depth of talent may never have been greater.

But his numbers heading into Wimbledon are mind-boggling.

When the 21-year-old beat American teenager Coco Gauff to claim her second French Open title earlier this month, her winning streak was extended to 35 games, equaling Venus’ 21st century record Williams, although still a long way off Martina Navratilova’s astonishing 74 games. sequence in 1984.

Swiatek became world number one in April after reigning Wimbledon champion Ash Barty surprisingly retired from the sport and from the evidence so far, the Pole seems comfortable in the role.

Her multi-faceted style of play and ability to outsmart opponents with versatile tactics means she excels on all surfaces, although grass can present one of her biggest challenges as she tries to become only the eighth woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, the last being Serena Williams in 2015.

She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, losing to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, but is still a relatively novice on the surface and will arrive without having played in any of the warm-up events as she guards against an injury to the ‘shoulder.

“The grass is always tricky. I actually like the part where I have no expectations there. It’s kind of refreshing,” said Swiatek, who won the junior title at Wimbledon.

Among her title rivals, Jabeur is a serious threat having added consistency to her unique game while there are several seasoned Wimbledon warriors lurking in the draw, none more dangerous than the sevenfold champion Williams whose aura, no matter how long she is gone, endures.

Spaniard Garbine Muguruza also knows what it takes to win the Wimbledon title, as do Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep, while Czech Karolina Pliskova, runner-up last year, cannot be ruled out if she succeeds.

Among the young squad, American Gauff seems the best long-term bet while Britain’s Emma Raducanu will face pressure to uphold her fairy tale title at last year’s US Open, since when did she endured a harsh reality check.

Reporting by Martyn Herman Editing by Toby Davis

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