Coco Gauff has received a major boost before even beginning her seventh Wimbledon campaign: her path to the semifinals avoids a top-10 seed. The World No. 7 has struggled at the Grand Slam over the years, with her best result being a fourth-round finish on three separate occasions. Given she posted her worst record last year in an early-round exit against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, she will fancy her chances this time around after getting a relatively easy draw. However, if she advances, Aryna Sabalenka looms as the draw’s defining challenge.

The 22-year-old will begin her campaign with a clash against Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch, who ranks No. 79 with 919 points. Despite a 1-0 lead over Gauff in the H2H record (6-4, 6-2 win in the qualifying rounds of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz tournament), Tamara has an overall poor record (11-26) on grass compared to Gauff (24-13), making Gauff undoubtedly the favorite to win this clash and advance to the second round. The American can then face either Anna Bondar or Solana Sierra in the next match, where she will once again be the favorite to win.

Gauff has never faced Bondar before, while she has a 2-0 lead over Sierra in the H2H record. If she makes it past the second round, then her third-round opponent could be Ann Li or Zeynep Sonmez. Gauff has a better lead over Li at 3-0 in the H2H record, while she has never faced Sonmez before. The latter could make for an interesting match.

The draw will become tougher for Gauff if she makes it into the fourth round. She could lock horns against Belinda Bencic or Anna Kalinskaya. Both players have solid rankings and can be a challenge. She has a 5-2 lead over Bencic but is tied with Kalinskaya at 1-1.

The draw will get even more difficult if Gauff reaches the quarterfinals for the first time at Wimbledon. She can either come up against Jessica Pegula, Iva Jovic, or Anastasia Potapova. Pegula has a 5-3 lead, while Potapova now has a 3-2 lead after recently beating Gauff 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the third round of the French Open.

Jovic is the only player out of the three to have never defeated Gauff. The two had faced each other for the first time in the R16 of the Rome Masters last month, where Gauff triumphed 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.

A victory in the quarterfinals could see Gauff come up against even tougher opponents in the last 4. She could be drawn against Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Naomi Osaka, or Emma Raducanu. Out of the four, Sabalenka would undoubtedly be the toughest opponent for Gauff, as not only does she have a 7-6 lead in the H2H record, but she also defeated the American in the Miami Open final earlier this year.

Gauff would back herself against Andreeva and Raducanu as she carries a 5-0 and 2-0 lead over them, respectively. Her matchup against Osaka has been pretty evenly contested, given their 3-3 H2H record.

It is safe to say that Gauff will come up against a formidable opponent if she reaches her maiden Wimbledon final. She can be up against the likes of Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, Amanda Anisimova, or Marta Kostyuk. These players could provide a tough fight.

The matchup against Swiatek, especially, could be very challenging for Gauff as she trails the H2H record by 11-5. Svitolina also has a 4-2 lead, while Anisimova is ahead by 2-1. But Gauff has a 3-2 and a 1-0 lead against Kostyuk and Rybakina, respectively.

One opponent that fans had wanted Gauff to face at Wimbledon is Serena Williams, who is making her long-awaited return to SW19 this year. But that seems unlikely.

Coco Gauff unlikely to face Serena Williams at Wimbledon

Serena has been placed on the opposite side of the draw, meaning Gauff could only meet her in the final. The 44-year-old has got quite a difficult draw compared to Gauff, and it will be an uphill task for her to reach the later stages.

Serena and Gauff have never faced each other in a tour-level match.

A reason fans want to witness the clash is that the two share quite a history. Notably, Gauff had even been invited for a photoshoot to portray a younger version of the former World No. 1 when she was just a kid.

It had even been rumored that Gauff and Serena would team up in grass-court events leading to Wimbledon. But that didn’t quite materialize, and the two had gone for different partners. But Gauff did express her desire to share the court with Serena on The Tennis Channel.

“It feels really cool, I would love to play on the same side as her shooting my shot, but we’ll see,” Gauff said on The Tennis Channel. “I don’t know, if she asks, the answer is going to be yes.”

It remains to be seen whether Gauff and Serena will team up or meet each other as opponents in the coming months.