( CNN ) -- There is a general consensus that women 's tennis needs a new name to ignite some excitement into it and , at this week 's Wimbledon , it does appear likely that the Williams sisters will once again be the ones to beat at the grass-court grand slam . The Williams sisters have dominated Wimbledon this century and contested last year 's final . Defending champion Venus ( five wins ) and younger sibling Serena ( two wins ) have dominated the tournament since 2000 , with only Maria Sharapova ( 2004 ) and Amelie Mauresmo ( 2006 ) breaking that monopoly . In fact , the Williams domination has been so great this century that the 2006 final -- when Mauresmo beat Justine Henin -- is the only final when one of the American duo has not been involved . Both Sharapova and Mauresmo are back this year , although their participation had seemed in doubt in the early part of 2009 . Sharapova certainly has the powerful game to claim another Wimbledon title , but a persistent shoulder injury has plagued her all year and she comes into the competition poorly prepared . At nearly 30 , Mauresmo is now a veteran of the WTA Tour . She had looked a spent force last year , but has enjoyed some better results this year and comes into the tournament as the 17th seed . A potential third round showdown with top seed Dinara Safina will test her to the limit , although she would undoubtedly have the fans ' support should that encounter materialize . Safina 's standing as world number one has divided opinion . The Russian is yet to win a grand slam and wasted another opportunity to end that particular hoodoo when losing to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open final last month . The 23-year-old comes into the tournament with a niggling knee injury and has not impressed in her pre-tournament displays . The feeling remains that should the Williams sisters decided to play more WTA events then one of them , and not Safina , would be topping the world rankings . Russians Elena Dementieva and Kuznetsova are seeded fourth and fifth and both have chances should they bring their top game to SW19 , although again it is hard to see one of them defeating an in-form Williams sister . Former world number one Jelena Jankovic has slipped down the world rankings this year and she too has yet to win a major , while 13th-seed Ana Ivanovic has not shown anything like the form that saw her win last year 's French Open . Last year 's semifinalist Jie Zheng of China loves the surface and could figure again . Unfortunately for her , she is due to face Serena Williams in the fourth round .
The Williams sisters are expected to dominate women 's singles once again . The American have won seven out of the last nine Wimbledon tournaments . Comment: