Iga Swiatek may be the World No. 1, but her lack of a proven track record on grass means Andy Roddick doesn't rank her among his top two picks for the Wimbledon women's singles title. Roddick views the defending champion Elena Rybakina as the frontrunner for the 2023 grass-court Slam, with Aryna Sabalenka (World No. 2) also ranking higher than Swiatek. Although the 22-year-old from Poland has dominated the tour for the past year and a half, her success is heavily weighted toward clay (63–9) and hard courts (97–33).
World No 1 Iga Swiatek remains unproven on grass and is not among Andy Roddick’s top two favorites to win this year’s Wimbledon women’s singles title. Instead, the honor of favorite for the 2023 grass-court Grand Slam title goes to defending champion Elena Rybakina with World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka also ahead Swiatek in Roddick’s pecking order. The 22-year-old Pole star has dominated the women’s game over the past 18 months, but the majority of her success has come on clay and hard courts as she is 63–9 on the red dirt and 97–33 on hard surfaces.
Swiatek's grass-court record stands at 6–5, with her best Wimbledon result being a fourth-round appearance in 2021. Because she chose not to participate in any grass-court tune-up events before the tournament, Roddick believes that Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina is more likely to hoist the trophy than the four-time Grand Slam winner.
Roddick told the Tennis Channel that the 24-year-old Rybakina is his top pick for the All England Club simply because she's the best in the world on this specific surface. He clarified that this isn't a critique of Swiatek, for whom he has immense respect, but rather a reflection of her lack of experience on grass. He suggested that Swiatek herself would likely admit to struggling on the surface, noting that the high RPMs and specific movement patterns she uses to dominate on clay don't translate effectively to the faster grass courts.
In contrast, Rybakina holds a 19–6 record on grass and has been dominant at Wimbledon with a 10-1 record, her only loss occurring in the fourth round during her 2021 debut. Roddick also considers Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka a stronger bet for the title than Swiatek, noting Sabalenka's 21–14 grass record and her previous semi-final run at Wimbledon in 2021.
The American tennis legend explained that the very things Rybakina struggles with on clay—such as movement and the need to slow down her shots—actually become advantages at Wimbledon. For this reason, he finds it impossible not to make Rybakina the favorite. He concluded that while Sabalenka might be the second favorite and Swiatek perhaps third or fourth, the World No. 1 remains an unknown quantity on grass and may struggle particularly if the courts play quickly.