Wimbledon Results Reflect Chaos of Women's Tennis

The 2011 Wimbledon results for the women's bracket are both familiar and unusual. They are familiar because Wimbledon is the second straight major where all the women's favorites were knocked out early. But the results are more surprising in a historic sense, since the Williams sisters were eliminated in the same round Monday, Serena losing in the tournament for the first time in years. However, these outcomes have become the established order in women's tennis these days.

Without the Williamses, the women's game has struggled to find new frontrunners. Venus and Serena briefly inspired hopes for a comeback when they each reached the fourth round. Yet in a rare display at Wimbledon, both sisters went down on the same day, capping off an afternoon of upsets.

However, since Venus and Serena aren't at their best, their defeats were not huge upsets. For that matter, neither was the loss by No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, since she always falls short in the second week of a major. Yet Wozniacki is still No. 1 by default, despite having never won a major.

Li Na had looked like the strongest woman in the competition with her French Open victory and berth in the Australian Open finals. But she went down to an early defeat last week, as did second-seeded Vera Zvonareva. With the top three seeds gone, fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova is the only big name left in the field, although No. 4 Victoria Azarenka is the highest-ranked player remaining.

Since Sharapova is the new favorite, she is probably doomed to be upset as well, which bodes well for quarterfinal opponent Dominika Cibulkova. In this topsy turvy field, unranked quarterfinalists like Sabine Lisicki and Tamira Paszek have as good a shot as any.

Many are likely bemoaning the fate of women's tennis right now, as the results at Wimbledon are even more chaotic than those at the French Open. No one seems eager to fill the gap the Williams sisters left behind, especially Wozniacki. Kim Clijsters has won a few majors lately, yet she is in the later stages of her career, while Na's ascent hit a speed bump last week.

The women's game seems to resemble that of men's golf, which is also struggling to go on without its biggest star. However, golf has more time to get Tiger Woods back, and has Rory McIlroy as its new next big thing now. The female tennis circuit is still looking for its McIlroy, but it could get a new contender depending on who finally wins Wimbledon.

For the second straight Grand Slam, there are contrasting results in the male and female circuits. While the top women have been upset already, the top men's players are still sailing along and dominating. But for tennis as a whole, this may be the best of both worlds, with a star-studded men's field and a wide open women's bracket all at once.

Sources

Yahoo Sports- "Matches: Jun 27, 2011"