Memory Lawn
Artists of the upset: First-week shocks at Wimbledon since 1999
Underdogs have had plenty of days in the sun at Wimbledon, from first-round stunners from Jelena Dokic and Eleni Daniilidou to the grass wiles of Hsieh Su-Wei and Magdalena Rybarikova and the repeat threats of Sabine Lisicki, Kaia Kanepi and Tamira Paszek. Here, look back at all the unseeded players who have defeated a Top 8 seed in the first week (rounds one to three) of The Championships since 1999.
01
/47
Jelena Dokic delivered one of the greatest upsets in tennis history in 1999 when, as a 16-year-old qualifier ranked World No.129, the Australian routed No.1 seed Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0 in the first round.
Photo by Getty
02
/47
World No.37 Lisa Raymond's 7-6(4), 6-1 second-round upset of No.7 seed Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1999 was her only win over the Spaniard in eight meetings, and the 10th of her 15 career Top 10 victories.
Photo by Getty
03
/47
Ranked World No.134, a 17-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni squeezed past No.4 seed Monica Seles 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the 1999 third round; it was the Croat's first Top 5 win out of five, but the second would not be for another 15 years.
Photo by Getty
04
/47
One year after capturing her first Top 10 win at Wimbledon 1999 on her debut over Amanda Coetzer, a 17-year-old Kim Clijsters notched up her second, defeating No.7 seed Nathalie Tauziat 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the 2000 first round.
Photo by Getty
05
/47
World No.49 Magüi Serna stunned Roland Garros champion and No.3 seed Mary Pierce 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in the 2000 second round en route to the quarterfinals - the Spaniard's second defeat of Pierce on the Grand Slam stage after Roland Garros 1998.
Photo by Getty
06
/47
Two of Sonya Jeyaseelan's three career Top 10 wins came at Grand Slams in 2000: having beaten Nathalie Tauziat at the Australian Open, the Canadian World No.79 dismissed No.4 seed Conchita Martínez 6-4, 6-1 in the Wimbledon second round.
Photo by Getty
07
/47
In 2001, Martina Hingis fell in the first round as the No.1 seed for the second time in three years, losing 6-4, 6-2 to Spain's World No.83 Virginia Ruano Pascual - the future doubles World No.1's first of just two Top 10 wins in singles.
Photo by Getty
08
/47
World No.48 Elena Likhovtseva scored her only win over Kim Clijsters in four meetings, and her only Top 10 win on grass out of 17 in total, in 2002, upsetting the No.5 seed 7-6(5), 6-2 in the second round.
Photo by Getty
09
/47
Ranked World No.74, on the comeback trail from a back injury and fresh off the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2002, Mary Pierce scored her sixth win in seven meetings against compatriot Sandrine Testud, beating the No.8 seed 6-3, 6-4 in round two.
Photo by Getty
10
/47
In 2004, World No.129 Sandra Kleinova shocked No.6 seed and Roland Garros finalist Elena Dementieva 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the first round - the Czech's second Top 10 win, and also second defeat of Dementieva in as many meetings.
Photo by Getty
11
/47
World No.118-ranked qualifier Virginie Razzano notched up the first of her 13 career Top 10 wins in the 2004 first round, coming through a 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 battle over No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Photo by Getty
12
/47
Fast-rising 19-year-old Karolina Sprem posted her second Top 10 win in the 2004 second round, ousting No.3 seed Venus Williams 7-6(5), 7-6(6) - with the match noteworthy for the 'phantom point' mistakenly awarded to the Croat in the second-set tiebreak.
Photo by Getty
13
/47
World No.76 Eleni Daniilidou ended No.7 seed and Roland Garros champion Justine Henin's 24-match winning streak in the 2005 first round, the Greek former World No.14's one-handed backhand shining as she sealed an epic 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-5 upset.
Photo by Getty
14
/47
No.4 seed Serena Williams's injury-plagued 2005 included a 6-3, 7-6(4) third-round loss to World No.85 Jill Craybas - the only loss in a completed match to a player ranked outside the Top 30 that Williams has ever suffered at Wimbledon.
Photo by Getty
15
/47
No.129-ranked qualifier Séverine Beltrame (playing under her married name of Brémond) defeated No.8 seed Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the 2006 second round en route to the quarterfinals - the only Top 10 win of the Frenchwoman's career.
Photo by Getty
16
/47
An all-Russian showdown in the 2008 second round saw 19-year-old World No.154 Alla Kudryavtseva stun No.3 seed and Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-4, going on to reach the fourth round.
Photo by Getty
17
/47
On a comeback from an ankle injury, No.133-ranked wildcard Zheng Jie became the lowest-ranked player at the time to defeat a reigning World No.1 after routing Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4 in the 2008 third round - the first of Zheng's 12 Top 10 wins.
Photo by Getty
18
/47
In 2009, World No.41 Sabine Lisicki captured her third Top 10 win with a 6-2, 7-5 defeat of No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round - the first of four just-crowned Roland Garros champions the German has beaten at Wimbledon.
Photo by Getty
19
/47
Both of Melanie Oudin's career Top 10 wins came in 2009 - the first in the third round of Wimbledon when, as a 17-year-old No.124-ranked qualifier, the American battled to a 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2 win over No.6 seed Jelena Jankovic.
Photo by Getty
20
/47
In 2010, No.5 seed Francesca Schiavone was fresh off the Roland Garros title - but crashed out in the first round 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-1 to World No.56 and former Eastbourne finalist Vera Dushevina, who captured the third of her four career Top 10 wins.
Photo by Getty
21
/47
For the first time in the Open Era, both Roland Garros finalists went out in the Wimbledon first round in 2010, with runner-up and No.6 seed Samantha Stosur falling to No.80-ranked qualifier and future noted giantkiller Kaia Kanepi.
Photo by Getty
22
/47
Fresh off the Birmingham title, No.62-ranked wildcard Sabine Lisicki took down another Roland Garros champion in 2011, saving two match points before defeating No.6 seed Li Na 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 in round two en route to the semifinals.
Photo by Getty
23
/47
World No.80 Tamira Paszek triumphed in a three-hour, 41-minute epic to best No.7 seed Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the 2011 third round - the second Top 10 win and start of a fruitful spell on grass for the 20-year-old Austrian.
Photo by Getty
24
/47
One year later, Tamira Paszek did it again: fresh off the Eastbourne title and ranked No.37, she saved two match points in the first round to overcome No.7 seed Caroline Wozniacki 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 in a classic contest under the Centre Court roof.
Photo by Getty
25
/47
Just over a year after stunning Kim Clijsters at Roland Garros, World No.72 Arantxa Rus posted a second major Top 5 upset, taking a topsy-turvy win over No.5 seed Samantha Stosur 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in the 2012 second round.
Photo by Getty
26
/47
Puerto Rican 19-year-old World No.65 Monica Puig, making her Wimbledon debut in 2013, captured the first Top 10 win of her career 6-3, 6-2 over No.5 seed Sara Errani in the first round and backed it up by making the fourth round.
Photo by Getty
27
/47
A slippery 2013 second-round clash saw No.131-ranked qualifier Michelle Larcher De Brito stun former champion and No.3 seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 - the first of two career Top 10 wins for the Portuguese 20-year-old.
Photo by Getty
28
/47
World No.46 and frequent upset artist Kaia Kanepi came from 1-5 down in the second-set tiebreak to oust No.7 seed Angelique Kerber 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in a superb contest in the 2013 second round, eventually progressing to her second Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Photo by Getty
29
/47
A year later in 2014, ranked World No.42, Kaia Kanepi posted her 10th Top 10 win 6-3, 6-2 over No.7 seed Jelena Jankovic in the first round - the fourth out of seven times the Estonian has upset a seed in a Grand Slam opener.
Photo by Getty
30
/47
World No.45 Bojana Jovanovski edged No.8 seed and two-time semifinalist Victoria Azarenka, who was playing her second event after a four-month hiatus due to a foot injury, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the 2014 second round.
Photo by Getty
31
/47
Barbora Strycova had lost her first 24 meetings against Top 10 opponents, but at the age of 28 finally captured her first of 10 to date in the 2014 third round, defeating Li Na 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in what would be the final match of the No.2 seed's career.
Photo by Getty
32
/47
World No.106 Jana Cepelova captured the second of her three Top 3 scalps when the Slovak stunned No.3 seed Simona Halep 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the 2015 first round.
Photo by Getty
33
/47
Ranked World No.158 after undergoing hip surgery a year previously, 2015 saw qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands take an important step towards her Top 100 return after defeating No.7 seed Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.
Photo by Getty
34
/47
Magdalena Rybarikova finally brought her grass skills to bear at Wimbledon in 2015, when the former Birmingham champion put seven first-round losses behind her and upset No.8 seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 7-5 in the second round.
Photo by Getty
35
/47
For the second year running, Jana Cepelova pulled off a big-name upset, shocking freshly-crowned Roland Garros champion, the following year's Wimbledon winner and No.2 seed Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3, 6-2 in the 2016 second round.
Photo by Getty
36
/47
Making her Grand Slam main draw debut in 2016 as a qualifier ranked World No.225, the USA's Julia Boserup moved past Belinda Bencic in the second round after the No.7 seed retired due to a left wrist injury trailing 6-4, 1-0.
Photo by Getty
37
/47
Returning from a seven-month injury layoff, a resurgent No.87-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova would go 17-2 on grass in 2017, including a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 upset of No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova in round three en route to the semifinals.
Photo by Getty
38
/47
A tide of upsets in 2018 began with World No.55 Donna Vekic posting her first Top 10 win at a major, and first Top 5 win anywhere, routing Roland Garros finalist and No.4 seed Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-3 in only 71 minutes.
Photo by Getty
39
/47
Tatjana Maria lost 15 of her first 18 matches of 2018 - but bounced back for a career-best spell on grass, taking her maiden title in Mallorca and first Top 5 win at Wimbledon, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1 over No.5 seed Elina Svitolina in round one.
Photo by Getty
40
/47
Two years after being the victim of a Wimbledon upset, Belinda Bencic dealt one out in 2018; on the comeback trail from a raft of injuries, the World No.56 bested No.6 seed Caroline Garcia 7-6(2), 6-3 in the first round.
Photo by Getty
41
/47
Birmingham champion Petra Kvitova had been a sentimental title favorite in 2018, but the No.8 seed fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to World No.50 Aliaksandra Sasnovich in round one - the Belarusian's second Top 10 win.
Photo by Getty
42
/47
World No.35 Ekaterina Makarova's 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 defeat of No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the 2018 second round was the Russian's second straight win over Wozniacki - having lost the first seven matches of their rivalry.
Photo by Getty
43
/47
Alison Van Uytvanck's variety was in the zone as the World No.47 stunned defending champion and No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the 2018 second round - the Belgian's first ever Top 10 win.
Photo by Getty
44
/47
Hsieh Su-Wei's spectacular 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 defeat of No.1 seed Simona Halep - saving a match point - in the third round was the 31-year-old's third Top 10 win, and sealed the seventh exit of a Top 8 seed over a carnage-filled first week in 2018.
Photo by Getty
45
/47
Having beaten Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-3 in Birmingham two weeks previously, World No.39 Yulia Putintseva reprised the upset in the 2019 first round, ousting the No.2 seed 7-6(4), 6-2 - the Kazakh's eighth Top 10 win, and first at a Grand Slam.
Photo by Getty
46
/47
World No.95 Lauren Davis's 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 defeat of No.5 seed Angelique Kerber in the 2019 second round marked the American's fourth Top 10 win, and the first time in the Open Era that a Grand Slam defending champion had lost to a lucky loser.
Photo by Getty
Latest News
-
-
Pavlyuchenkova ends season due to knee injury
Player News -
Teens Fruhvirtova, Noskova open Roland Garros qualifying with wins
2022 Roland Garros -
Rankings watch: Andreescu climbs 49 spots; Jabeur reaches career high
Rankings update -
WTA, Hologic shine spotlight on women's health
National Women's Health Week -
Champions Corner: How Kudermetova and Pavlyuchenkova found success at…
WTA Insider
