Wimbledon women's semi-final predictions & tennis betting tips: Hard-hitting Sabalenka set to turn on the style

Where to watch

Live on BBC One, BBC Two & BBC iPlayer, from 1pm Thursday

Best bets

Three sets in Elina Svitolina v Marketa Vondrousova
1pt 6-5 BoyleSports

Aryna Sabalenka -2.5 games on handicap v Ons Jabeur
2pts 5-6 bet365

Wimbledon women's semi-final preview 

While one women’s semi-final features two of the world’s best in Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, the other pits together two unseeded stars as wildcard entry Elina Svitolina meets world number 42 Marketa Vondrousova.

Victory for Sabalenka would see her replace Iga Swiatek as the world number one but Jabeur, runner-up at the All England Club last year, will have other ideas after getting her revenge on the defending champion Elena Rybakina in her quarter-final.

Svitolina stunned top seed Swiatek in her last-eight triumph and, having only returned to the WTA Tour in April after giving birth in October, the Ukrainian is seeking a first Grand Slam final at the expense of 2019 French Open runner-up Vondrousova.

The winner of the second semi-final is expected to reign supreme with Sabalenka best-priced 6-4 to land her second Grand Slam title of the season after winning in Australia in January and Jabeur 2-1 to go one better than last season.

Meanwhile, Svitolina and Vondrousova are both 9-2 to claim what would be a maiden major. 

Elina Svitolina v Marketa Vondrousova predictions

Bookmakers slightly favour the chances of Vondrousova, but the Centre Court crowd may be in overwhelming support of new mum Svitolina.

It is a remarkable achievement from the Ukrainian who gave birth only nine months ago, but it may not be the biggest surprise given her back-class and the fact she made the French Open quarter-final last month.

Svitolina, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2019, was roared on by the British public as she defeated world number one Swiatek in the quarter-final and it was the similar case in her last-16 win over Victoria Azarenka.

That may be the scenario once more, so it is surprising to see her as the outsider, but Vondrousova’s All England Club efforts should not be taken lightly.

The 24-year-old Czech talent showed great determination as she rallied from 4-1 down in the deciding set of her quarter-final clash with world number four Jessica Pegula.

That came on the back of victories over three more seeds in Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic and Marie Bouzkova, the kind of form which had seen her make the French Open final in 2019 and claim the silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Svitolina brings control and elegance to the court but Vondrousova adds the power and aggression, two contrasting styles that make for quite the showdown.

Three of Svitolina’s last four wins have come in a deciding set and Vondrousova’s latest two victories have come in three, suggesting this may have to go the distance before matters are settled.

Ons Jabeur v Aryna Sabalenka predictions

The winner of this second semi-final will be fancied to go all the way and the power-packed approach of Sabalenka should see her rise to the challenge.

Sabalenka got her first taste of Grand Slam glory at the Australian Open earlier in the year, a title triumph that many felt could be the beginning of the Belarusian’s dominance.

The 25-year-old built on that with a semi-final run at the French equivalent and there is added motivation in this clash with Jabeur as the world number one spot is lying in wait.

Jabeur continues to defy the odds and the quick-moving Tunisian can’t be ruled out on this surface after her latest wins over Petra Kvitova and Rybakina.

But this latest version of Sabalenka looks in a different class and, with her serve holding up and the unforced error count lower than usual, the Belarusian may  have too many weapons for last season’s runner-up.

The second seed has dropped only one set on her way to the final four and dominant straight-set wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Madison Keys, two title winners during this grass-court season, suggests she can win and cover the handicap.

Sabalenka was broken only once across those two victories and she should get an easier time of things on serve than Jabeur, who has lost her last three meetings with the hard-hitting Belarusian which includes a 6-4 6-3 defeat in the Wimbledon quarter-final two years ago.

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