By Associated Press - Saturday, July 13, 2024

LONDON — The Wimbledon women’s final between Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic has started on Centre Court.

Saturday’s match is the first singles final at the All England Club for each player and started with the stadium roof open and no rain in the forecast.

The seventh-seeded Paolini is playing for the trophy at a second consecutive Grand Slam tournament after losing to Iga Swiatek in the final at Roland Garros last month. She is the first woman to make it that far on the French Open’s clay and Wimbledon’s grass in the same season since Serena Williams in 2016.

Krejcikova, seeded 31st, seeks her second major singles title after her triumph at the 2021 French Open. She also owns seven Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles, including two at Wimbledon.

Kate, the Princess of Wales and the patron of the All England Club, did not attend Saturday’s match but is set to be at the men’s final on Sunday in a rare public appearance after her cancer diagnosis. In her place, the women’s trophy will be handed out by Deborah Jevans, the chair of the All England Club.

Whoever emerges with the victory on Saturday will be the eighth woman to leave the All England Club as champion in the last eight editions of the tournament. Last year’s Wimbledon winner, Marketa Vondrousova, lost in the first round last week.

Carlos Alcaraz will play Novak Djokovic on Sunday in the men’s final.

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