Women's Tennis

A women's tennis player from either Switzerland or the Czech Republic has never won a gold medal at the Olympics. That will change for one of those countries on Saturday.

No. 9-seeded Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) will face unseeded Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) in the gold-medal match of the women's singles tournament at the Tokyo Games on Saturday. Neither has previously won a Grand Slam title, so this will be the biggest match of both their careers to this point.

It isn't a final matchup that many predicted, but the favorites were knocked off earlier in the tournament. Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty (Australia) was upset in the first round, while No. 2-seeded Naomi Osaka (Japan) lost to Vondrousova in the third round.

Here's everything you need to know heading into Saturday's gold-medal match.

     

Women's Singles Final Information

Date: Saturday, July 31

Time: Tennis coverage begins at 2 a.m. ET (match likely to begin around approximately 6-7 a.m. ET)

TV: Olympic Channel

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

     

Preview

Vondrousova has the potential to make history for her nation on Saturday. The Czech Republic hasn't had a ton of success in Olympic tennis over the years. It's taken home three silver medals and four bronzes, but a player from the country has never won gold.

But Vondrousova has a strong chance of becoming the first to do so. She may be facing a player who is ranked higher than her in Bencic, but Vondrousova has a ton of momentum, as well as past success against Bencic in the previous meeting between the two.

Four months ago, Vondrousova won a three-set match against Bencic in the third round of the Miami Open. The 22-year-old dropped the first set, then bounced back for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Considering all three sets were competitive, Vondrousova and Bencic may play another close match this time.

Vondrousova hasn't played many tough matches in Tokyo, though, as she's dropped only one set over her five victories—the second set of her opening-round win over No. 16-seeded Kiki Bertens.

Since then, Vondrousova has defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, Osaka, Paula Badosa and No. 4-seeded Elina Svitolina, all in straight sets. The victory over Svitolina was especially impressive, with Vondrousova cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 semifinal win.

After that victory, Vondrousova expressed her joy that she'll be leaving Tokyo with either a gold or silver medal, the latter of which will go to the loser of Saturday's final.

"I was thinking that [to win] two or three matches would have been great, and then I beat Naomi so then I thought that I was playing well and that maybe I could even do better," Vondrousova said, per WTA Tour. "I'm now just happy to be in the final. It's an amazing feeling."

Bencic expressed a similar sentiment after her semifinal win over No. 15-seeded Elena Rybakina.

"To have a medal, it's something I dreamed of, and I didn't think it would become reality," Bencic said, per the WTA Tour. "I'm beyond relieved and happy."

While both are thrilled about reaching the Olympic podium, only one will stand on the top spot and receive the highest honor of winning a gold medal. And it should be an exciting bout to determine who that will be.

Saturday marked the start of the women's tennis tournament at the 2021 Olympics with a total of 23 matches, led by Naomi Osaka taking on Saisai Zheng. 

This will mark Osaka's first appearance in a tournament since withdrawing from the French Open after her first-round victory over Patricia Maria Tig on May 31. 

One player who won't be around to potentially challenge Osaka is Ash Barty. The No. 1 overall seed was stunned in her first match by Sara Sorribes Tormo. 

Here are the results from each match as they go final:

Results

Sara Sorribes Tormo def. No. 1 Ash Barty 6-4, 6-3

No. 2 Naomi Osaka def. Saisai Zheng 6-1, 6-4

No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka def. Magda Linette 6-2, 6-1

No. 4 Elina Svitolina vs. Laura Siegemund 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

No. 5 Karolina Pliskova def. Alize Cornet 6-1, 6-3

No. 7 Garbine Muguruza def. Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 7-5

No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova def. Zarina Diyas 5-2 (Retired)

No. 9 Belinda Bencic def. Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-3

No. 10 Petra Kvitova def. Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3

Camila Giorgi def. No. 11 Jennifer Brady 6-3, 6-2

Ekaterina Alexandrova def. No. 12 Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

Marketa Vondrousova def. No. 16 Kiki Bertens 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Paula Badosa def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-7, 6-3, 6-0

Misaki Doi def. Renata Zarazua 6-3, 6-2

Mihaela Buzarnescu def. Alison Riske 6-7, 7-5, 6-4

Qiang Wang def. Veronica Cepede Royg 6-4, 6-3

Fiona Ferro def. Anastasija Sevastova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2

Nadia Podoroska def. Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (4), 1-3 (Retired)

 Alison Van Uytvanck def. Ivana Jorovic 6-3, 6-2

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-1

Elena Vesnina def. Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4

Donna Vekic def. Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3

Ajla Tomljanovic def. Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 3-2 (Retired)

Recap

Kiki Bertens' singles career came to an end with her three-set loss to Marketa Vondrousova. The Netherlands native announced last month that 2021 would be her final season. She missed the first three months of the year recovering from Achilles surgery in October. 

Originally, Bertens said she would retire either at the end of the year or after the Olympics. The 29-year-old confirmed after her loss in the first round that this was her final singles match. 

"I think I can be really proud of myself. I would have never dreamed what I've achieved," she told reporters after the match. "There's so many memories, so many great people I've met over the years. I'm just going away with a happy face and no regrets."

One of the biggest upsets saw Jennifer Brady, the highest-seeded American in the women's field (No. 11), lose in her first singles match to Camila Giorgi. The early trends for Team USA on the tennis court have not been encouraging in the early going.  

#Tennis Jennifer Brady falls in R1 6-3, 6-2. American Tennis are 0-5 in Singles with Frances Tiafoe and Marcos Giron coming up later today

— TeamUSATracker 🇺🇸 (@TeamUSATracker) July 25, 2021

One player who had no such problems in her opening match was Aryna Sabalenka. The No. 3 seed lost just three games total in her 6-2, 6-1 victory over Magda Linette. 

Sabalenka picked up right where she left off from earlier this month when she made a run to the Wimbledon semifinal. 

On the subject of Wimbledon, Barty's expectations for the Olympics were likely sky-high coming off her first-ever victory at the All England Club two weeks ago. 

World number one Ashleigh Barty loses in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics 6-4, 6-3 to Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Sorribes Tormo always looked like an extremely difficult opponent for Barty on these slow Tokyo courts, and so she was.

— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) July 25, 2021

#Tokyo2020 #Olympics

Crashed party: Ashleigh Barty, the current world number one, upset in the first round 6-4, 6-3 to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo. Tormo has never progressed beyond the second round in a Grand Slam. #Tennis

LIVE: https://t.co/lPVPlIcpaN pic.twitter.com/5q3OghhT9w

— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) July 25, 2021

Barty's loss ensures this will be the fourth consecutive Olympiad in which the top-ranked women's player doesn't win the gold medal. Justine Henin was the last woman to accomplish that feat in 2004. 

Tormo has already had the best season of her career to this point. She won her first WTA tournament in March by defeating Eugenie Bouchard in the final at the Abierto Zapopan. 

While there's still a lot of work for Tormo to do in Tokyo, the 24-year-old already has the signature win of her career by sending Barty home. 

Naomi Osaka now looks like the heavy favorite after easily taking care of business against Saisai Zheng.

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka was selected as the final torchbearer and lit the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 2021 Summer Games on Friday in Tokyo.

🎾@naomiosaka is your final Olympic flame torchbearer and has lit the #Olympics cauldron 🔥#Tokyo2020 | #OpeningCeremony | #UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/PQLe8FmX2v

— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 23, 2021

Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is one of the marquee athletes in this year's Olympics with a chance to deliver a gold medal to the host nation in women's tennis.

Iconic.

🇯🇵 Naomi Osaka lights the flame for #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/fPa54K7onx

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) July 23, 2021

The 23-year-old superstar has taken some time away from the tennis court since withdrawing from the French Open in June in order to focus on her mental health.

She wrote an essay for Time magazine saying she took the "past few weeks to recharge and spend time with my loved ones," but she is ready to represent her country in the Olympics on home soil.

"I could not be more excited to play in Tokyo," Osaka wrote. "An Olympic Games itself is special, but to have the opportunity to play in front of the Japanese fans is a dream come true. I hope I can make them proud."

The first hint she was selected as the final torchbearer, a marquee role that's typically kept secret by the host nation until the opening ceremony, came earlier Friday when it was announced her first-round match against Saisai Zheng on Saturday had been postponed until Sunday.

Let the Games begin 🔥

Four-time major tennis champion Naomi Osaka has the honour of lighting the #Tokyo2020 Olympic cauldron.@naomiosaka, a battler on court, offers a symbol of hope for her home country #JPN#OpeningCeremony | #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/Ir01GZ5imn

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 23, 2021

Osaka is making her first appearance in the Olympics.

The opening ceremony was held without fans at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. There will also be no spectators at the sporting events throughout the Games. 

American tennis player Coco Gauff announced Sunday she'll miss the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.

🙏🏾❤️🤍💙 pic.twitter.com/lT0LoEV3eO

— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) July 18, 2021

Gauff, 17, is one of the sport's rising stars. She's won two WTA Tour titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 French Open in June, her deepest run in a Grand Slam tournament.

The Atlanta native confirmed her intention to play in Tokyo after her performance at Roland Garros clinched her berth on Team USA.

"I'm definitely planning on playing the Olympics," Gauff told reporters in June. "I'm excited to play."

She was formally announced as part of the squad on July 1:

Meet your @TeamUSA tennis squad. 🇺🇸 @Olympics x @Paralympics pic.twitter.com/x2YYMtZgJj

— USTA (@usta) July 1, 2021

Gauff represented the U.S.' best chance at singles gold in the Olympics with Serena Williams having previously removed her name from contention.

"There's a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision," she said in late June. "I don't really want to—I don't feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry."

Williams is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the 2012 singles championship and a trio of doubles titles alongside sister Venus Williams.

It wasn't immediately announced who would replace Gauff in the women's singles draw.

The Olympic tennis schedule opens Saturday with all draws except mixed doubles, which starts July 28.

Jill Smoller, the agent for tennis superstar Serena Williams, said the 23-time Grand Slam champion is hoping to recover from a leg injury in time to play in the 2021 U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 30.

"She's doing great," Smoller told TMZ Sports in an interview released Friday, adding Williams is "just doing rehab" after she was forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon Championships in late June.

Williams, who previously announced she'd skip the Tokyo Olympics, is one major title away from tying Margaret Court for the all-time women's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. She's also captured 14 doubles and two mixed doubles titles at majors.

The 39-year-old American has come close in recent years, reaching four Grand Slam finals and two semifinals since 2018, but she last captured a major title at the 2017 Australian Open.

She's won the U.S. Open six times and, while her last triumph in New York came in 2014, she's reached at least the semifinals in her last five appearances at the season's final major tournament.

In February, Williams confirmed the pursuit of Court's record was a key focus.

"It's definitely on my shoulders and on my mind," she told reporters. "I think it's good to be on my mind...I'm used to it now."

Injuries have become a factor for the longtime fan favorite, however, as she's also dealt with Achilles and shoulder ailments in recent years.

Williams is still a threat to capture any tournament she enters, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see her take on a lighter schedule in future years with most of the focus on the Grand Slam events in order to maximize her chances of staying healthy for the two-week majors.

In the short term, it's unclear whether she'll recover in time to play in any of the U.S. Open Series warm-up tournaments before the Grand Slam gets underway in six weeks.

Ashleigh Barty captured her second Grand Slam singles title Saturday with a three-set victory (6-3, 6-7, 6-3) over Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Wimbledon women's final at the All England Club in London.

Barty, the tournament's No. 1 seed, previously won the 2019 French Open and has held the top spot in the WTA Tour rankings since September 2019. She got off to a fast start in the championship match by winning the first four games, and she recovered after second-set surge from her eighth-seeded counterpart to take home the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Destiny fulfilled  🇦🇺@AshBarty is our new Ladies' Singles Champion 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Yeh7wldDuv

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2021

The 25-year-old Australian, who also earned a Grand Slam doubles title alongside CoCo Vandeweghe at the 2018 US Open, recorded 30 winners and seven aces in the win.

Pliskova was making her second appearance in a major final. She lost to Angelique Kerber in the 2016 US Open title match. The Czech veteran tallied 27 winners and 32 unforced errors on Saturday.

Barty dropped the second set in her opening-round win over Carla Suarez Navarro before winning 11 consecutive sets to reach the final. It was a run highlighted by victories over No. 14 seed Barbora Krejcikova and No. 25 seed Angelique Kerber.

It marked a return to form for the 2019 WTA Player of the Year, who was just starting to peak during the clay-court season after sitting out much of last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic when she suffered injuries that forced her to withdraw from the Italian Open and the French Open. 

After beating Kerber in the semifinals, she admitted it was a close call as to whether she'd even get healthy in time to play in the Wimbledon draw.

"I think we had 23 or 24 days in between finishing up in Paris and my first round here," Barty told reporters. "To be honest, it was going to be touch-and-go. Everything had to be spot on to give myself a chance to play pain-free and to play knowing that I could trust my body."

She looked healthy Saturday and bounced back nicely to take early control of the deciding set after letting the championship briefly slip through her fingers late in the second.

We couldn't imagine a more deserving champion 🤗#Wimbledon @ashbarty pic.twitter.com/MA8xNZWaF5

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2021

Pliskova, 29, was a surprise finalist despite her top-10 ranking. She lost the first match in both of her grass-court warmup tournaments and hadn't advanced beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon in eight prior appearances.

The 16-time WTA Tour tournament winner benefited from a favorable draw, which allowed her to reach the semifinals without facing a seeded opponent, but there was nothing lucky about her hard-fought win over No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the event's penultimate round.

"I can't believe it because somehow coming into this tournament, the dream was to make the second week, because I [haven't been] in the second week for a while," Pliskova said before the championship match. "Never I thought about ... [making] the final."

She played well throughout the final two sets of the final, but she dropped one service game in the third set and could never get it back as Barty saved the only break point she faced en route to the title.

Looking ahead, Novak Djokovic will attempt to keep his hopes of winning the calendar Grand Slam alive when he faces Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon men's final Sunday.

Then the focus will shift toward Tokyo with five tennis gold medals on the line in the Summer Olympics. The men's and women's singles draws both start play on July 24.

Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova both advanced to their second career Grand Slam finals Thursday at Wimbledon.

Barty, the top seed, defeated 2018 Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Pliskova eliminated No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. 

Barty and Pliskova will play in the first Grand Slam final featuring top-10 seeds in women's singles since the 2019 Australian Open, when Naomi Osaka beat Petra Kvitova. 

Barty will be going after her second major title. She won the 2019 French Open in her first attempt to capture a Grand Slam.

Pliskova is back in a major final for the first time since the 2016 U.S. Open, when she fell in three sets to Kerber. 

       

Women's Semifinals Results

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty def. No. 25 Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 7-6(3)

No. 8 Karolina Pliskova def. No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

     

Barty started off Thursday's play on Centre Court with a commanding win in a showdown of two Grand Slam champions. 

A first Wimbledon final.@AshBarty, 50 years on since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won at The Championships, is one victory away from emulating her idol after beating Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-6(3) 🇦🇺#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/qgWxKoKYvI

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2021

The top-seeded Australian was efficient, winning 86 percent of her 21 first-serve points in the opening set. 

She also fended off three break-point opportunities from the German veteran and converted on one of her two chances to break Kerber's serve.

Kerber put up a stiffer test in the second set, as she allowed a single break and earned that break back to force a tiebreak.

However, the German could not keep up that momentum. She lost the first six points of the tiebreak to make life much easier for Barty to serve out the match. 

Barty did so on her fourth match point. Kerber hit a return into the net for the last of her 23 unforced errors. 

Barty is now 2-1 in Grand Slam semifinals. She knocked out Amanda Anisimova in the 2019 French Open semis on the way to her first major crown. 

The world No. 1 will face a former top player in the world for the Wimbledon title Saturday. 

Pliskova won her first semifinal appearance at a Grand Slam since the 2019 Australian Open by rallying back from a dropped set against Sabalenka. 

The No. 8 seed lost a set for the first time in the tournament when Sabalenka broke her serve at the end of the opening stanza. 

Pliskova responded with a break at 2-2 in the second set. That was the boost she needed to stay strong on serve and level the match. 

Pliskova earned a quick two-game lead in the final set and held the advantage throughout that frame. 

It was fitting that the match ended on an ace from Pliskova. The two players combined for 32 aces and 70 winners. 

Sweet Karolina.@KaPliskova comes from a set down to reach the #Wimbledon final for the first time after beating Aryna Sabalenka 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/xCPFfAXL7V

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2021

Pliskova only allowed one break-point opportunity for Sabalenka, and she did not allow a potential break in the second or third sets. 

Conversely, Pliskova forced 10 break-point opportunities and cashed in on two of them to gain the advantage required to advance to the final. 

Saturday's final will be the eighth time Barty and Pliskova go head-to-head. Barty leads the series 5-2 and won the only meeting in the last two years at Stuttgart this season. 

One of Pliskova's two wins over Barty came in their only Grand Slam meeting at the 2016 U.S. Open. The two players also split results on the grass at Nottingham to start their head-to-head series. 

       

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Wimbledon.com.

The 2021 Wimbledon semifinals are set in the ladies' singles draw with four of the top competitors in the sport still competing for the major.

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will face No. 25 Angelique Kerber, while No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is set to take on No. 8 Karolina Pliskova. 

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times noted the star power on display in these two matches:

#Wimbledon women's semifinals set:

🇦🇺Barty-Kerber🇩🇪

🇨🇿Pliskova-Sabalenka🇧🇾

By pedigree, it's the strongest women's semifinal lineup at a Slam in quite some time:

Three current/former #1 players, and the #2 seed.

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 6, 2021

It's a significant change from the French Open women's semifinals, which featured two unseeded players and no one in the top 10.

Here is what you need to know about the upcoming round of play.

---

Women's Semifinals

When: Thursday, July 8

Time: 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. local)

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

---

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty vs. No. 25 Angelique Kerber

Kerber is the lowest seed remaining in the field, but she is the only one who has won this tournament. The 33-year-old won Wimbledon in 2018 and also reached the final in 2016.

The German remains an elite competitor on grass, winning the Bad Homburg Open last month.

"I just try to continue my play on grass," Kerber said after her quarterfinal win over Karolina Muchova, via WTATennis.com. "Having, of course, the confidence from the last week, coming here with a title in my bag, gives me also confidence that grass is really my surface."

It makes her an obvious threat to win it all this week, although beating Barty will not be easy.

The No. 1 seed has been as dominant as expected in London with just one lost set in five matches. She lost just four games in the quarterfinals against Ajla Tomljanovic.

Game, set and match - with an ace - @ashbarty 👌

The world No.1 defeats compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-3 to reach the #Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time pic.twitter.com/qj7AATwPvl

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021

Barty won 57 percent of receiving points and broke Tomljanovic six times in her latest victory.

It could lead to an exciting battle between two of the top players of the past few years.

---

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 8 Karolina Pliskova

It's been smooth sailing for Pliskova in this tournament. The 29-year-old has not only won every set, but most competitors also haven't even been close.

In the last four rounds, no one has won more than three games in any set against Pliskova.

The Czech star wasn't broken at all against Viktorija Golubic, showcasing her ability to get to anything on the court.

"Unbelievable tennis!" 😮

Get comfy and enjoy this stunning point between @KaPliskova and Viktorija Golubic#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Qkb0abxFsV

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021

It is still not enough to rule out Sabalenka as the 23-year-old continues her breakout season.

Sabalenka has already won two titles in 2021, shooting up to the No. 4 ranking in the world. She would vault to No. 2 with a win in the semis.

She had never reached the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam before this week, but she has what it takes to go all the way to a title.

The four women's semifinalists at Wimbledon carry a deep list of achievements on their respective resumes. 

Ashleigh Barty is the current No. 1 seed and she won the 2019 French Open. Angelique Kerber won Wimbledon in 2018. Karolina Pliskova is a former world No. 1, and Aryna Sabalenka is the No. 2 seed. 

Each of the four women looked dominant in their quarterfinal victories Tuesday. None of them dropped a set on Centre Court or No. 1 Court. 

Those wins set up two show-stopping semifinals for Thursday. Barty faces Kerber, and Sabalenka will go head-to-head with Pliskova. 

     

Women's Quarterfinal Results

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty def. Alja Tomljanovic, 6-1, 6-3

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 21 Ons Jabeur, 6-4, 6-3

No. 8 Karolina Pliskova def. Viktorija Golubic, 6-2, 6-2

No. 25 Angelique Kerber def. No. 19 Karolina Muchova, 6-2, 6-3

Barty produced the most commanding single-set victory of the four quarterfinals. She breezed past Alja Tomljanovic in the first set in 24 minutes and finished off the first-time quarterfinalist in one hour and six minutes. 

Game, set and match - with an ace - @ashbarty 👌

The world No.1 defeats compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-3 to reach the #Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time pic.twitter.com/qj7AATwPvl

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021

The Australian has not dropped a set since the second frame of the opening round against Carla Suarez Navarro. Since then, she won five sets by three games or more to set up a showdown of major champions with Kerber. 

Kerber looked as dominant as Barty in her last two matches. The former Wimbledon champion squashed the threats posted by Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova with back-to-back straight-set wins. 

A semi-final spot for @AngeliqueKerber! 👏

The 2018 #Wimbledon champion wins 6-2, 6-3 against Karolina Muchova to book her place in the final four pic.twitter.com/r5tSzIh0cj

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021

The 25th-seeded German has gone through a bit of a Grand Slam resurgence in London. She did not advance past the fourth round in any major since the start of the 2019 season.

However, Kerber is one of the most experienced Grand Slam players on the women's circuit. She has six Grand Slam semifinal appearances and three major titles, the most of any remaining woman in the field. 

Barty and Kerber split their four head-to-head meetings and they have not played each other since 2018. 

Pliskova and Sabalenka will play Thursday for a chance to win their first major title over a former major champion.

Pliskova reached the 2016 U.S. Open final and lost to Kerber in three sets. Sabalenka has never made it past the fourth round at a major before London. 

The eighth-seeded Pliskova has not lost a set on the London grass in five rounds. She blew past unseeded Swiss Viktorija Golubic and lost four games in the process to reach the final four. 

Flying into her first #Wimbledon semi-final@KaPliskova powers past Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-2 on No.1 Court in one hour and 21 minutes pic.twitter.com/NJ88BeJV5a

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021

On paper, Sabalenka had the toughest matchup with Ons Jabeur, but she did not have much trouble with the No. 21 seed. 

Sabalenka was not fazed much by the moment of her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and she took a straight-set victory from the Tunisian. 

Return to sender 💌@SabalenkaA in an explosive mood on Centre Court 💥#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/8RpAvjUJAT

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021

The No. 2 seed owns a pair of head-to-head wins over Pliskova, but just like Barty and Kerber, the two other semifinalists have not played each other since 2018. 

Serena Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, provided an update Friday on the leg injury that forced her to withdraw during her first-round match at Wimbledon.

In an interview with Cedric Rouquette of TennisMajors.com, Mouratoglou couldn't provide many specifics other than to say that Williams is able to walk:

"We don't know for the moment; we are expecting the result of the clinical assessment. The manual test gave us an idea of the nature of the injury, not how serious it is. We're waiting to see how long she's supposed to be resting and, obviously, the consequences in terms of preparation for the next one [the US Open]. Time will fly. She's walking, which is a good sign, and it excludes very bad possibilities." 

Williams slipped and fell during the opening set of her first-round Wimbledon match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, forcing her to retire from the match and the tournament with the score tied at 3-3.

The 39-year-old Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, but she hasn't added a Grand Slam title to her resume since the 2017 Australian Open, which was prior to the birth of her daughter in September 2017.

Serena has reached four Grand Slam finals and two additional semifinals since her last major title, but she has been unable to seal the deal.

Williams already has the most career Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era, but she is one short of tying Margaret Court for the all-time record with 24.

Serena was in tears as she left the court after retiring from her match against Sasnovich, and Mouratoglou suggested it was because she doesn't know how many more times she will have the opportunity to compete at Wimbledon: "She'll be 40 soon; she doesn't know how many Wimbledons she will play in the future. Probably not that many, you can't be sure there will be another one. So many feelings going on in her head in a small amount of time."

Mouratoglou also expressed his belief that the emotions stemmed from Serena believing she was emotionally and physically ready to go on a deep run and potentially win the tournament this year:

"What she missed is what leads her to be Serena. I mean, refusing to lose and suddenly playing at another level in the crucial moments. For a couple of years now, my quest [has been] to understand why she couldn't rely on that anymore.

"Now I found it, and it was the day before the first round. Serena was ready to show it at Wimbledon. I know her by heart, she was that strong at the beginning of the match and she was ready to use what I consider as a superpower when needed."

Williams never got the opportunity to showcase that "superpower," and now her status for the upcoming U.S. Open is in doubt.

Serena already removed herself from Olympic consideration before Wimbledon started, meaning she will have some time to rest up and potentially get herself ready for the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 30.

Williams is a six-time U.S. Open champion, and if she is healthy enough to play in this year's tournament and win it, she will finally equal Court for the most all-time Grand Slam singles titles.