Can Serena Williams win her seventh Wimbledon title?June 15, 2016

Unlike other (tennis) surfaces, the WTA rankings don't apply to grass. There were four grass-court tournaments last season, all warm-up events for the Wimbledon Championships. Serena and Venus Williams never played in any of the tourneys, yet they managed to have eleven Wimbledon singles titles between them. Starting this season, the French Open and Wimbledon will be three weeks apart. It's one more week of play for some players, which might be enough for them to adjust their game to the grass courts. A number of big names opt to rest that much, as the transition from the clay to grass isn't easy.

If past results were indicators, then Serena Williams would be the heavy favourite to win her seventh Wimbledon singles titles. She will match Steffi Graf's total. It will also be the American's 22nd major title, which is also Graf's total number of Grand Slam trophies. However, the last three major events produced three different winners. It may turn out to be four different Grand Slam champions this year. (The last time it happened was five years ago.) Let's take the results these past months into consideration, and then include the performance of the players on Wimbledon during the last five years. (Maria Sharapova's suspension is also another factor.) Here are the probable semifinalists at the All-England Club next month:

Serena Williams. She's the heavy favourite on paper, but the grass courts at the All-England Club can be unpredictable at times. Unless she's scheduled to play on Court One, then it's not hard to envision Williams lifting her seventh Venus Rosewater Dish.

Sabine Lisicki (or Angelique Kerber). Graf might be proud that the next generation of German players has been most consistent in grass. After losing to Marion Bartoli in the finals in 2013, rain (and a possible injury) derailed Sabine Lisicki's bid to win her first Grand Slam title the following year. Timea Bacsinszky, a semifinalist in Roland Garros, beat her in the third round last year. The native of Troisdorf, Germany will be unseeded this year, which will make her a dangerous foe to any seeded player. It's hard to beat her if she's in good form unless she'll meet Serena Williams before the finals. As for Kerber, it would be a matter of recapturing the form that enabled her to win the Australian Open early this year.

GarbiÃ±e Muguruza. She reached her first Grand Slam finals at the All-England Club last year. She won her first major title at Roland Garros two weeks ago. She'll likely be seeded second (behind Williams), but an upset might happen if it's her off day.

Petra KvitovÃ¡. The two-time Wimbledon champion is currently ranked eleventh, but the All-England Club will likely give her a seeding of eighth or higher. Apart from her third-round loss to Jelena JankoviÄ‡ last year, the Czech had amazing results in grass. It's hard not to see her around during the second week.

Agnieszka RadwaÅ„ska is the other player who has a good shot of reaching the final four. The All-England Club has been her favourite surface, reaching the finals in 2012. (RadwaÅ„ska was a wildcard on her first appearance in 2006, losing to Kim Clijsters in the fourth round. Expect in 2011, Poland's top-ranked player managed to make to the final 16 or better.) It remains to be seen if she can find a way to outlast her opponents with strong (first) serves and who often comes to the net.

As for Sam Stosur, fans are hopeful after her semifinal appearance at Roland Garros. But she never made it to the second week.

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