Rafael Nadal is halfway to a calendar Grand Slam, a feat that would mark the crowning point of any player's career.
Yet the Spanish great does not have to look far back into history to see how quickly that dream can be scuppered, with Novak Djokovic having fallen agonisingly short of a sweep of all four majors only last year.
As perhaps the most grounded player in tennis, Nadal heads into Wimbledon well aware that winning the first two majors of the year is no guarantee of any future success.
At the age of 36, and with a foot problem that requires careful maintenance, it would be arguably the most remarkable feat in the Open Era if Nadal were to add the Wimbledon and US Open titles to his Australian Open and French Open triumphs.
Such dominance is scarce in tennis, and Rod Laver was the last player to scoop all four men's singles titles at the majors, all the way back in 1969.
Steffi Graf won all four on the women's side in 1988, and it seemed a knock-in that Serena Williams would do likewise in 2015 when she headed to the US Open with three majors already bagged.
But Williams famously came unstuck when she faced Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals, while Djokovic went even closer in 2021, losing to Daniil Medvedev in the final at Flushing Meadows.
Here, Stats Perform examines the daunting challenge of scooping all four slams consecutively.
WHAT THE GREAT CHAMPIONS SAY
Before tennis reached its Open Era, which marked the dawning of professionalism on the tour, Laver won his first calendar Grand Slam in 1962.
He said later, quoted by the Tennis Hall of Fame: "It was a thrill to come off the court knowing I had won all four majors in one year. But I never felt like I was the best, never felt that way. I just happened to have a good year."
His 1969 dominance came a year after Laver returned to the majors, following a five-year exile while he played professional tennis elsewhere. When the majors allowed professionals to compete alongside the amateurs, 'Rocket Rod' was again unstoppable.
Laver turned 31 in 1969 and did not win any further grand slam singles titles in his career after that astonishing season, but that second perfect season sealed his legacy as an all-time great.
Stefan Edberg won a boys' singles clean sweep in 1983, but Laver remains the only player to win the men's singles full set in a calendar year since American Don Budge captured all four in the 1938 season, the first time it was achieved by a man. Maureen Connolly and Margaret Court achieved calendar Grand Slams in women's singles in 1953 and 1970 respectively.
A non-calendar Grand Slam was accomplished by Djokovic, when he won Wimbledon, the US Open, Australian Open and French Open consecutively across the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Yet no man other than Laver, Budge and Djokovic has won all four singles crowns in succession.
It has been 11 years since Nadal himself went close. He went to the Australian Open in 2011 with the Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open trophies in the bag, looking to complete the set.
"I am sure it's going to be the only one opportunity that I'm going to have in my life," said Nadal that year. "I'm not going to have more of these opportunities to win all four in a row.
"I think it is almost impossible. It is very, very difficult, no? Tennis is a very competitive sport and there is not a lot of difference between players. So a lot of matches are decided in a few balls. So for that reason it is very difficult to have one player winning everything. That's the truth."
Nadal, hampered by injury, lost in the Melbourne quarter-finals to David Ferrer in 2011 and had not won back-to-back slams since, until this year's surprise double.
REACHING PRESSURE POINT
It is too soon to think that Nadal has a glorious chance to land all four big ones this year. After all, although he has won Wimbledon twice before, those triumphs came in 2008 and 2010, and he has a chronic foot problem. He has required radiofrequency ablation treatment in the past fortnight, preventing nerves in his foot sending messages to his brain.
He fell to Djokovic in the 2011 Wimbledon final and has not been back to the title match since, suffering a run of disappointing early exits in London before reaching semi-finals in 2018 and 2019, his last visits to the tournament.
Djokovic is a heavy favourite for this year's title, but it would be bold to entirely rule out Nadal, particularly given that as the second seed he cannot run into Djokovic until the final. Particularly given that he is Rafael Nadal, and prone to doing stupendous things.
Serbian Djokovic, a year Nadal's junior, would be able to tell his great rival just how intense the strain can become when a calendar Grand Slam becomes a serious prospect.
Speaking in November last year, two months after Medvedev denied him in New York, Djokovic said: "I'm very relieved that the grand slam season was done, because I felt a tremendous pressure unlike anything I felt in my life.
"It was an interesting experience, and I'm very satisfied with the way I played in grand slams, three wins and a final. There are much more positive things to be grateful for and to look at than negative."
Like Djokovic, Serena Williams has managed the non-calendar Grand Slam before, with the American first achieving that from the French Open in 2002 to the Australian Open in 2003, and in 2015 she was aiming for five slams in a row when she arrived at the US Open, having begun her dominant streak at her home grand slam the previous year.
That would have meant Williams sealed each of the 2015 slams, and losing to Vinci led to stark frustration, underlined by a terse response to the question of how disappointed she felt by the result.
"I don't want to talk about how disappointing it is for me," Williams said. "If you have any other questions, I'm open for that."
Sometimes, players get ahead of themselves when looking at the season ahead, and Naomi Osaka had a calendar Grand Slam in her thoughts after winning the season-opening Australian Open in 2019.
She had also triumphed at the US Open at the end of 2018, and the Japanese star was beginning to think she might enjoy an invincible year at the majors, only to stumble to a third-round French Open defeat to Katerina Siniakova.
Osaka said: "I think I was overthinking this calendar slam. For me this is something that I have wanted to do forever, but I have to think about it like if it was that easy, everyone would have done it."
Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper said his side's 3-2 road win in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final typified the kind of championship pedigree that has delivered back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Trailing 3-1 in the series heading into the contest, the Lightning struck first after 15 minutes of action as Jan Rutta got on the end of a move by Corey Perry and Mikhail Sergachev.
It would be the only score of the opening period, before the Avalanche would tie things up five minutes into the second term through a Valeri Nichushkin strike.
Just three minutes later Nikita Kucherov put Tampa Bay back ahead with a power-play goal, but the Avalanche would not lay down on their home ice, squaring the ledger once again two minutes into the third and final period, with Cale Makar setting up a tense finish.
Ondrej Palat would be the hero, putting the Lightning ahead 3-2 with less than seven minutes to play, before a late penalty against the Avalanche for having too many men on the ice all but ended their chances of a comeback.
Speaking to ESPN after the result, Cooper said all his side has went through over the past two championship runs has prepared them for these situations.
"The resolve in the room – and part of this is that we've been here before," he said. "We know this feeling, we've been on both sides.
"We've been part of the cup-winning team when we had a chance to close somebody out, and you learn from those experiences.
"We've not closed teams out, and we've closed teams out. Champions have a skillset like none other, but the greatest skillset they have is what's between the ears, and we used that tonight to our advantage. We're still alive."
Asked about what he appreciates most about this Lightning team, Cooper said it was their toughness.
"It's what the people don't see," he said. "You see everything that goes on the ice and all that – it's what you see in the locker room.
"These guys – it's like they're spent, and you think 'how are they going to get off the mat?' – and then they get off the mat. It's just amazing to see.
"I remember Wayne Gretzky saying once about when they lost in the Cup to the Islanders – when they got there, they got swept – and as his team walked off, nothing wrong with them, they looked into the Islanders locker room, and they weren't even celebrating, they all had ice bags and packs.
"That's what it takes to win, and I've always kept that with me. When you get these teams, you kind of have to have that attitude, and that's what this team has."
Cooper was also full of praise for star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy – who was named player of the game – calling him "the best in the world".
"I just sit here and think about sports in general, and the importance of somebody in sports," he said.
"You look at football, and how important Tom Brady is to his team, the quarterback. The quarterback in football is like the goaltender in hockey.
"You're the last line of defense, if that puck goes in the net, you're the one that has to sweep it out and turn the page because they're coming right back at you.
"Everybody's got their eyes on you, and all he does is deliver. You talk about a mental mindset of gamesmanship, that kid's got it, and that's why he's the best in the world."
Scorer of the winning goal, Palat said his side was confident coming into the contest, and that they did what was needed.
"I thought we played a good game – a great road game, we stayed on top of it," he said.
"[Vasilevskiy] was great, again, and we just find a way to win. A huge win, now we're excited to go back to Tampa.
"Right now we feel pretty good – we're excited to go back in front of our friends, it's going to be a great game. I felt great [before the game], everybody was pretty confident and excited.
"We knew we had to just win this game and move on."
Now trailing 3-2 in the series, the Lightning will head home for Game 6, and if they win, the Game 7 decider will be back in Colorado.
A big performance from New York Mets star Francisco Lindor helped his side conquer the Miami Marlins and their ace pitcher Sandy Alcantara 5-3 away from home.
Lindor struck in the very first inning, grinding out an eight-pitch at-bat before connecting on a 404-foot solo home run to center-field.
It was also a poor beginning to the game for Mets starter Taijuan Walker, giving up four consecutive base hits to the Marlins' first four batters, but he was able to get out of the first inning only conceding one run to keep things tied.
Alcantara, who is the favourite to win the Cy Young Award as most outstanding pitcher in his conference, found his footing through the middle stages, not allowing a baserunner through the second, third and fourth inning.
He only gave up two hits and no walks through the first five innings, but the second hit – courtesy of Mark Canha in the fifth – also travelled over the fence, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.
Just like the first frame, the Marlins did not allow the Mets to finish the inning in the lead, tying it at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth through a Jorge Soler RBI groundout.
The sixth inning is where the Mets won the game, with an infield single to lead-off, followed by a bunt for a hit, and then a fielding error to load the bases with no outs.
Lindor cashed in, with a bases-clearing, three-run double to bust the game open, opening up a winning break that the Mets bullpen was able to defend.
Alcantara ended up pitching seven complete innings, giving up four earned runs from five hits and no walks, doing enough to remain as one of four starting pitchers with an ERA still under 2.0 this season (1.95, giving up 23 earned runs in 106.1 innings).
Walker was credited with the win, coming back from his rough start to work through six innings, giving up three runs and striking out five.
Astros snap Yankees' home streak
The New York Yankees lost at home for the first time in their past 16 games at Yankee Stadium as the Houston Astros got the job done 3-1.
Both teams finished with five hits, and both teams had all their scoring come from a single home run in the sixth inning, but while Giancarlo Stanton's homer was a solo shot, Kyle Tucker's was a three-run blast after a double from Alex Bregman and a walk to Yordan Alvarez.
It was a terrific outing for Astros ace Justin Verlander, pitching seven complete innings for four hits and one walk.
Devers, Pivetta and the Red Sox stay hot
The Boston Red Sox have now won 17 of their past 21 games after a 6-3 road win against the Cleveland Guardians.
Nick Pivetta shined on the mound, giving up two runs in seven innings, allowing nine hits, but no walks.
With the bat, AL MVP candidate Rafael Devers delivered with a 411-foot solo home run to put the Red Sox ahead in the second inning, before Carlos Arroyo's two-run shot in the seventh frame finally gave Boston some breathing room.
Paolo Banchero feels he is more than ready to meet the challenge of the NBA and the expectations that come with being the number one overall pick.
In his only season at Duke, the 6-foot-10 Banchero averaged a team-best 17.2 points per game and grabbed 7.8 rebounds, while handing out 3.2 assists. He also didn’t shrink in big moments, scoring at least 16 points in all five of the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament games this year.
Banchero was something of a surprise as the top selection in Thursday’s NBA Draft, with many having Auburn’s Jabari Smith pegged as the Orlando Magic’s top choice. He said he didn’t even know he would go first overall until about 30 seconds before NBA commissioner Adam Silver took the stage to announce his name.
"It all happened pretty fast," he said. "I didn’t even have time to really think about it or anything. It just kind of happened. I can’t believe it, but I’m ready."
Banchero arrived in Orlando on Friday and will next begin a whirlwind of activity before starting workouts next week for the Magic’s July 7 opener at NBA Summer League.
"There's going to be high expectations for myself that I'm going to hold myself to and that everyone is going to hold myself to," Banchero said. "But I feel like it's nothing I'm not used to.
"It was the same thing for me heading into college, throughout high school, a lot of expectations. It's been like that my whole life."
The Magic did work out Smith, and listened to teams that called about obtaining the first pick in a trade, but Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said in the end, the team felt that Banchero was the best player at the college level this past season and would be the best fit.
"There's things that you're grabbing from each [top player in the draft] that you're like, 'Oh, man, wow, that can be great for us','' he said.
"But then it ultimately comes down to, 'How does that fit for us? How do we jell with them in the locker room? How are they treating people when they're walking in?' – because all those pieces play a factor, and I think we've done an incredible job with those details."
The Magic are a combined 43-111 in the past two seasons, have made the playoffs just twice in the last 10 years and haven’t won a round in the postseason since 2009-10.
The Who famously sang "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" – and the Charlotte Hornets are taking that to heart.
In one of the more surprising coaching hirings in recent memory, the Hornets are bringing back Steve Clifford for a second stint as head coach of the team.
Clifford was Charlotte’s bench boss for five seasons and guided the team to two playoff appearances before he was fired following the 2017-18 season, and then hired a few weeks later by the Orlando Magic. He compiled a 196-214 record with the Hornets and is 292-345 in eight seasons as an NBA coach.
His best season in Charlotte came in 2015-16 when the Hornets went 48-34 and lost in seven games to the Miami Heat in the first round the playoffs.
The Hornets initially offered the job to Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, but he later told the team he was backing out due to family reasons.
"I think [Atkinsons] would have been a good pick, but if he’s not comfortable here I would rather find out now then a year from now," Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Thursday night at the NBA Draft.
This time, Clifford inherits a team that is more talented than any of his previous Charlotte squads with All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and Miles Bridges.
The Hornets finished last season with the league’s eighth-ranked offense, but were weak defensively, and allowed 132 points in a 29-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in elimination game last season. Outgoing head coach James Borrego was also criticised for failing to play young, emerging talent, instead opting to give minutes to established veterans who lacked upside.
Defense has been the organisation’s priority in seeking a new leader, and Clifford has long been considered one of the NBA’s top defensive coaches. The Hornets finished sixth, 10th, ninth, 17th and 17th in defensive rating during his five seasons. They were 22nd this past season under Borrego, who was fired in April.
Chun In-gee shot a three-under 69 on Friday to extend her leading score at the Women's PGA Championship to 11 under – six strokes better than anyone else through two rounds.
The South Korean, who is a two-time major winner, led by five strokes after the first round, and extended that by one more with five birdies and two bogeys in her second trip around the course. In doing so, she is the only player to shoot both rounds in the 60s.
Leading the chasing pack at five under is Australian Lydia Ko and American Jennifer Kupcho, with Ko's 67 tying for Friday's round of the day along with Lexi Thompson.
Thompson sits in a tie for ninth at three under, along with recent U.S. Open winner Minjee Lee and China's Xiyu Lin.
Heading into the weekend there are 26 women below par, including representatives from Thailand, Northern Ireland, Japan, Finland, England and South Africa.
Xander Schauffele shot his second consecutive 63 to head into the weekend at the Travelers Championship at 14 under – five strokes clear of the chasing pack.
Remarkably, Schauffele is yet to post a bogey in the tournament, with 14 birdies and 22 pars through his 36 holes.
He started beautifully in his second trip around TPC River Highlands, birdieing three of his first five holes, and capped off his round by birdieing the picturesque 17th hole for the second day in a row.
Schauffele was one stroke behind J.T. Poston and Rory McIlroy after Thursday's action, and tied for the round of the day on Friday along with Harold Varner III.
At 14 under, Schauffele has tied the TPC River Highlands 36-hole record, and it ties him with Justin Rose back in 2010 for the lowest 36-hole score at the Travelers Championship since 1984.
The five-man group tied for second place at nine under is made up of Americans Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, Nick Hardy and Kevin Kisner, as well as Australia's Cam Davis. Hardy and Kisner were the pick of that group on Friday, shooting 64s.
McIlroy and Poston sit one shot further back at eight under after the first-round leaders both shot even-par 70s, and are joined at eight under by a group including Lee Kyoung-hoon and Matthew NeSmith.
Webb Simpson is at seven under, rounding out the top-20, along with Michael Thorbjornsen, who is the only amateur to make the cut after rounds of 68 and 65.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is at five under, along with Varner, with the pair taking very different routes to that number. Scheffler has been consistent, with a 68 and a 67, while Varner has been the opposite, following his opening 72 with a 63.
With the cut-line at two under, Danny Willett and Mito Pereira were two of the players to miss out on the weekend despite being under par, while Sam Burns finished his week even, Jordan Spieth was one over, and the talented duo of Rickie Fowler and Joaquinn Neimann were at three over.
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez was in bullish mood as he outlined his confidence of a knockout victory in his trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin.
Alvarez and Golovkin have shared a heated rivalry since 2017, when the first meeting between the pair ended in a controversial split draw.
The Mexican won the rematch in 2018, but the mutual dislike still feels fresh.
"A knockout, that’s what I see," Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) said when asked in a news conference to predict the outcome at T-Mobile Arena.
The undisputed super middleweight champion is coming off a loss to Dmitry Bivol but insists he can handle Golovkin, whose record stands at 42-1-1, 37 KOs.
"I got tired as the fight went on, and as far as the loss, you take the loss and you move on," Canelo added.
"I'm more dangerous now than before. It's personal to me."
When asked if he wants to "punish" Golovkin in their third – and likely final – meeting, Canelo told Fighthype: "Yes, because he always talks about me, a lot of s*** about me."
Canelo also alleged that his opponent has been biding his time, focused only on another rematch and a final payday before the 40-year-old Golovkin retires.
"He's fighting a lot of C- and D-level fighters, and I'm staying busy fighting the best fighters out there. It doesn't make sense, right? I'm glad to be here," Canelo added.
Roberto Bautista Agut stands in the way of Stefanos Tsitsipas and his first grass-court title.
Making his debut at the Mallorca Championships, Tsitsipas sealed his maiden appearance in a grass-court final by cruising past Benjamin Bonzi 6-4 6-4 on Friday.
The world number six has now reached four finals this season, having lost two of the previous three – winning on clay at the Monte Carlo Masters.
It was the second meeting between the pair in as many weeks, with the Greek having also downed Bonzi at the Halle Open.
And Tsitsipas now has a chance to warm up for Wimbledon in winning fashion.
"It was a good match. I am very happy today," Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. "I have played a final a week before a grand slam before. It was the year I made the final at Roland Garros, in Lyon.
"It worked out pretty well to have that final and consistency of matches. It is different this time. We are talking about a different surface, so we will see."
Tsitsipas has now claimed a tour-leading 39 wins this season, but standing between the 23-year-old and silverware is Spaniard Bautista Agut, who reached a 20th career final by beating Antoine Bellier 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Like Tsitsipas, Bautista Agut is aiming for a second title of the season.
At the Eastbourne International, two Americans will vie for the title after Indian Wells Masters champion Taylor Fritz saw off a tough challenge from Alex de Minaur while Maxime Cressy defeated home favourite Jack Draper 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.
Fritz, who triumphed at Eastbourne in 2019 – similarly against an American, in Sam Querrey – but has found his best form hard to come by of late, also needed three sets to get the better of De Minaur, eventually succeeding 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3.
"It's amazing," Fritz said. "I was having a bit of a rough start coming back from injury to the grass season, and then I came here and the first day I was here I just immediately felt like I was playing good tennis again.
"I just have a lot of confidence being here, obviously great memories, so I'm really excited to come back out and play for the title again."
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar wants his team to use their "nervous energy and emotion" in Game 5 as they aim to secure their first Stanley Cup in more than 20 years.
The Avs lead the Finals series against the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 after a crucial 3-2 win in overtime in Game 4, courtesy of a controversial Nazem Kadri goal when Colorado had six players on the ice.
Colorado can seal their third Stanley Cup and first since 2001 with a victory over the Lightning, having started the series with two wins on home ice before they were thrashed 6-2 in Game 3.
Bednar expects heightened emotions among his players, with title celebrations looming, but does not want them to shy away from those feelings.
"You always hear about controlled emotion. I'm kind of the opposite with our team," Bednar told reporters.
"Besides running around and getting out of our game plan, I want us to use our energy and nervous energy and emotion to go play the game with passion, play hard and stay on our toes and getting after it.
"That's my message to our team, has been all year. I want to harness that. I want our team to get on the attack.
"Every game the whole season long, it was the same type of preparation as today."
Li Haotong carded a second-round 67 to maintain his lead at the BMW International Open in Munich after a weather-interrupted second day.
The Chinese 26-year-old tied the Golfclub Munchen Eichenried course record with a score of 10 under par on Thursday, taking a one-shot lead into the clubhouse after two eagles in the final four holes.
Li will now also head into the third day in pole position, after overcoming two bogeys on the first seven holes to get himself to 15 under par.
He has not won a DP World Tour title since 2018, when he triumphed at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, but now has a real chance of lifting the trophy after an impressive first two rounds.
"It's another good day in the office. I'm feeling great," Li told reporters. "I think I've only missed two cuts so far this year, so it's been working especially off the tee.
"For sure I'm already feeling the pressure. Hopefully I can play my golf and keep calm. To be honest I didn't drive as well as yesterday, but my short game is quite okay.
"When you get in the rough, the lie could be really bad or could be good. Sometimes you just need luck."
His closest challenger is Ryan Fox, who is just one shot behind after going around in 64 and is chasing a third DP World Tour win.
Play was suspended for around two hours because of the threat of lightning, and Fox brought the thunder when he stormed the back nine with four birdies.
It was not enough to pip Li to the lead though heading into what promises to be an enthralling weekend.
Daan Huizing is just three shots off the lead, while Thomas Pieters' second round of 64 leaves him four back alongside Jordan Smith, with Maximilian Kieffer five shots off the leader.
The New York Yankees and star slugger Aaron Judge agreed to a one-year, $19million contract just hours before the two sides were scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Friday.
The deal represents a compromise between Judge, who is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and the Yankees.
The three-time All-Star's representatives had been seeking a $21m salary for this season, while New York countered with a $17m offer.
Judge can also earn an additional $250,000 if he wins the American League MVP award and another $250,000 if named MVP of the World Series.
The 30-year-old has emerged as an early MVP frontrunner as the leader of a Yankees team who own the majors' best record at 52-18.
Judge's 27 homers in 2022 are five more than any player, and he is batting a career-best .304 through 68 games. He also ranks third in the majors in OPS (1.037) and third in the AL with 53 RBIs.
Judge reportedly turned down a seven-year, $213.5m extension offer from the Yankees during spring training, and the six-foot-seven outfielder's stellar start to 2022 likely has him in line for a more lucrative payday when he reaches free agency in the offseason.
Those 2022 numbers would not have impacted Judge's arbitration case, however, as any statistics after March 1 are not admissible per the agreement between MLB and the players' association that ended this past offseason's lockout.
Catcher Salvador Perez will undergo surgery to repair a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, the Kansas City Royals announced on Friday.
The procedure will sideline Perez for an extended period, although the Royals said in a statement that the seven-time All-Star is expected to return this season.
Perez, whose 48 home runs in 2021 tied Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero for the major league lead, initially injured his thumb while swinging in mid-May.
He returned on May 28 but aggravated the injury while catching in Kansas City's win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old leads the Royals with 11 homers this season while adding 34 RBIs in 57 games, although his .211 average and .254 on-base percentage are the lowest marks of his 11-year MLB career.
Perez earned his fourth career Silver Slugger Award in 2021 after tying a Royals season record for home runs and leading the majors with 121 RBIs. The veteran is also a five-time Gold Glove Award winner at catcher.
Perez's absence will allow the Royals to give an extended look to rookie MJ Melendez behind the plate.
The 23-year-old Melendez, who entered the season as MLB.com's number 51 overall prospect, led the minor leagues with 41 homers in 2021 while splitting the season between Double and Triple A.
Melendez has hit .234 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 45 games with Kansas City since being called up in early May.
Reigning Eastbourne International champion Jelena Ostapenko will go up against Petra Kvitova in 2022 Saturday's final.
Ostapenko won as a wildcard in 2021, and the world number 14 confirmed her place in this year's showdown by overcoming Camila Giorgi on Friday.
She is the first female player to reach back-to-back finals in Eastbourne since Caroline Wozniacki in 2017 and 2018.
The Latvian, who is also going to compete for the doubles title, prevailed 6-2 6-2 and will now go up against Kvitova. The pair have faced off eight times previously, with each player winning four matches.
It is Kvitova's first appearance in a final in 2022, with the former world number two – and two-time Wimbledon champion – having ended Beatriz Haddad Maia's winning streak.
Haddad Maia won in Birmingham last week and Nottingham the week before, but her run came to an end at 12 matches, with Kvitova triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
"For me, a final after almost a year [without one] will be great, so I’m glad already," said Kvitova, who was a runner-up at Eastbourne in 2011 and last reached a final on grass in Birmingham four years ago.
"Jelena loves to play here, obviously, we saw it, she has a really great game for grass."
Meanwhile, at the Bad Homburg Open, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu reached her sixth career final courtesy of a walkover against Simona Halep.
The Romanian withdrew from the semi-final clash with a neck injury, which will worry the 2019 Wimbledon champion ahead of the season's third grand slam at the All England Club.
"I am sorry that I had to withdraw today before my semi-final match," Halep said in a statement.
"But unfortunately I woke up this morning with a blocked neck and this is not allowing me to perform to the best of my ability."
Andreescu will face Caroline Garcia, who saved a match point before going on to beat fellow Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 7-6 (11-9) 3-6 7-5 to reach an 11th tour-level showpiece.
Chet Holmgren revealed he had already been in contact with Josh Giddey before his selection by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Thursday's 2022 NBA Draft.
The 19-year-old Australian represents a significant part of the Thunder's future plans, averaging 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists in his rookie season, with Holmgren disclosing discussions between the two on how and where they could both fit.
While the 20-year-old Holmgren insisted he is eager to meet all of his future team-mates upon arriving in Oklahoma City, Giddey is a particular case after already outlining their potential future.
"I'm looking forward to meeting all of them and getting to work with all of them," Holmgren said on ESPN's draft broadcast. "But I've been speaking to Josh a little bit throughout this process, so I'm definitely looking forward to finally meeting him.
"[The discussion] hasn't been so much advice yet, as much as it has been talking about the Thunder and what they are, what he sees in me and how we can play together."
Even after Paolo Banchero was taken first by the Orlando Magic, there was little surprise Thunder general manager Sam Presti would then go with Holmgren at number two.
As a big who can stretch the floor, the seven-foot-one Holmgren exhibited unique shooting touch for his size in his freshman year at Gonzaga, potentially creating more space for someone like Giddey to make plays.
Despite leading the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament and the likely scenario of a lottery pick on Thursday, Holmgren still found it all surreal upon his selection.
"Obviously, Paolo's a hell of a player, he said. "I'm proud of him, and I'm happy for him, but when I heard my name, it was nothing but excitement, and I'm ready to get to work.
"I can't even describe it. I've got zero words for the 1,000 emotions that I'm having right now, but they're all very good."
Jabari Smith admitted there is a chip on his shoulder after being overlooked by the Orlando Magic for the number one pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, but vowed to show the Houston Rockets that the Magic's loss is their gain.
Orlando instead picked Paolo Banchero, despite Smith being heavily tipped to have his name called.
Chet Holmgren was chosen second as expected by Oklahoma City Thunder, allowing the Rockets the chance to pick up Smith at three.
Speaking to reporters after Thursday's draft, the 19-year-old said: "[It] Definitely added a chip, but God makes no mistakes, so I'm happy to be here.
"I'm happy to be where I'm wanted. I'm happy to get to Houston and just show them. Give them what they picked. Just happy to be here."
Smith was a disruptive defender for Aubern, and averaged 16.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 42.9 per cent from the floor and 42 per cent from the three-point line in 2021-22.
The forward was named National Freshman of the Year by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
He will link up with other promising youngsters at Toyota Center, including Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, both claimed in last year's draft.
"Most thing I'm looking forward to is just growing with them over these next few years," Smith added.
"We're all young, all new to the NBA lifestyle, so just learning from them. They're older than me, so just getting in there and ultimately building that relationship with them, so it can transfer to the court."
The Rockets had a league-worst record of 20-62 in the 2021-22 season, but Smith is aiming high, believing already that his new team can reach the postseason.
"I want to make the playoffs," Smith told ESPN. "I want to win games. That is how I was raised. That is just who I am. I want to come in and win games.
"I know if I come in every day trying to win, everything else will take care of itself. I am looking forward to a big year."
The Los Angeles Lakers did not have a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but they will have a pair of high-profile rookies on their Summer League roster.
Ex-LSU forward Shareef O'Neal and former Vanderbilt guard Scotty Pippen Jr have agreed to free-agent contracts with the team as they try to follow their famous fathers into the NBA.
O'Neal is the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, who played eight seasons with the Lakers from 1996 to 2004 and helped the franchise to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.
Pippen's father, Scottie, was a seven-time All-Star and a major part of the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s that won six NBA titles in an eight-year span from 1991 to 1998.
According to The Athletic, O'Neal has received an invitation to play on the Lakers' Summer League team in Las Vegas, while Pippen Jr has agreed to a two-way contract – as has Syracuse's Cole Swider.
Both players confirmed the signings on their Twitter accounts.
"THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY @Lakers!," O'Neal wrote while posting a short video of him as a child in a Lakers jersey.
"Dreams come true. Let's get to work #lakeshow," Pippen Jr tweeted.
The six-foot-10 O'Neal began his collegiate career at UCLA before transferring to LSU, where his father starred prior to being taken by the Orlando Magic with the number one overall pick of the 1992 draft. Foot injuries limited the younger O'Neal to only 37 games over three college seasons.
Pippen Jr, a six-foot-three guard who attended high school in the Los Angeles area, went undrafted despite a standout three-year career at Vanderbilt in which he scored 1,577 points in three seasons.
The 21-year-old averaged over 20 points per game in each of his final two seasons and was a two-time first team All-Southeastern Conference selection.
Former Wimbledon doubles champion Pam Shriver has said she does not disagree with the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament.
Shriver landed 21 women's doubles grand slam titles, of which 20 came in partnership with Martina Navratilova, and 112 career doubles titles in all, and she also claimed 21 singles tournament wins.
Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from this year's Wimbledon due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to Stats Perform, Shriver – who won five women's doubles championships with Navratilova at Wimbledon – said while she did not like that it was a decision that needed to be made, she did not object to it.
"War is messy, right? War is tragic. It's been a horror show for Ukrainian people," said American Shriver. "And there's a lot of Ukrainian professional tennis players that are just living through hell.
"Obviously, the decision has been made to try and have the tightest of sanctions. So when you think about the industry of pro tennis, if we're going to have sanctions as well, then Wimbledon [should too], and I understand the UK government has put some pressure throughout the country to not do business with Russians during this time.
"I wish they had never had to make the decision, but I think under the circumstances, I can't say I disagree [with it]."
Shriver also said the decision from the ATP, WTA and ITF to remove ranking points from this year's tournament was "really unfortunate".
However, she does not believe it will make Wimbledon seem like an exhibition, saying: "It's not an exhibition because of the prize money and because of the prestige of winning a Wimbledon title.
"Those are actually the two main things. I think the points are third, and so you're missing the third most important aspect, but the prize money is huge, and [the tournament] will be just as prestigious as ever."
As a result of the ban on Russian players, men's world number one Daniil Medvedev will not be in attendance at SW19, but Shriver does not think it will diminish the competition.
"You know, maybe some years it would [be a problem that Medvedev is not there] but... you're going to have the number one seed being [Novak] Djokovic and number two seed being [Rafael] Nadal," she said.
"When you have the player who has more majors than anybody else ever in the men's game at 22, Rafa, and you have Novak trying to win his fourth straight Wimbledon and his seventh overall and trying to chase Rafa's 22, I think that's going to hide the fact we don't have a number one.
"It's going to be an unusual year to not have rankings one and two [Medvedev and the injured Alexander Zverev], but I feel like the names on the men's side, [Carlos] Alcaraz, [Matteo] Berrettini, [Hubert] Hurkacz got to the semis last year, the two Canadian guys [Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov].
"I feel like there's still such great depth and with Rafa and Novak leading the way, it's fine."
It always feels somewhat presumptuous to talk about an NBA Draft in the immediate aftermath and judge who did well and who did not. Surely, we have to wait to see how things play out and whether players with immense potential are able to fulfil it?
However, what you can do is judge those who, on paper at least, seem to have struck gold and those who appeared to stumble through their Thursday evening and may well have come away disappointed with their haul.
The night started off delightfully chaotically as the Orlando Magic went against the widely predicted number one pick of Jabari Smith Jr and instead brought in Paolo Banchero.
Now the dust has settled after an interesting night, Stats Perform has taken a look at the potential winners and losers of the draft.
Winners
Houston Rockets
The Rockets could probably not believe their luck when the Magic decided to opt for Banchero. The Italian-American would have still been a fine first-round pick, but given the choice it seems like Houston would rather have taken Smith Jr, and they had the chance to do just that.
The youngster was a disruptive defender for Aubern, and clearly has sound fundamentals, a result no doubt of growing up in and around basketball, with his father Jabari Smith Sr a former NBA player himself.
Smith Jr averaged 16.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists while shooting 42.9 per cent from the floor and 42 per cent from the three-point line in 2021-22, and should dovetail nicely with Alperen Sengun, a first-round pick from last year.
The Rockets also took Tari Eason, a breakout star at LSU, and TyTy Washington, a high-quality and versatile option who was expected to be picked up earlier in the night.
Detroit Pistons
A very similar moment of fortune fell for the Pistons as their top choice Jaden Ivey was surprisingly still available when it came to their number five pick, with the Sacramento Kings instead taking Keegan Murray.
In two seasons at Purdue, Ivey showed himself to be a top-five prospect with a well-rounded game, though questions persist about the consistency of his shooting. He averaged 17.3 points per game last season, though, with a field goal percentage of 46.0.
Detroit were also involved in a three-way trade with the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks. This ended with them procuring Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker in exchange for their 2025 first-round pick, having acquired it as part of the Jerami Grant trade to the Portland Trail Blazers earlier in the week.
Walker is expected to be bought out of his contract and become a free agent, so it looks like sound dealing to essentially trade a first-round pick to get Duren through the door, who averaged 12.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Memphis Tigers last season.
San Antonio Spurs
Nothing outrageous from the Spurs, but on the face of it, they ended the night with three solid picks.
Jeremy Sochan became the first British player to be picked in NBA Draft in over 10 years. As a freshman at Baylor, Sochan averaged 9.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game, making 47.4 per cent of his field goal attempts.
As that average suggests, one aspect to his game that could be improved is his shooting, but San Antonio's Chip Engelland is one of the best shooting coaches in the game and could well help the young man who was raised in Milton Keynes, England.
Malaki Branham looks a smart choice as the number 20 pick from Ohio State, with his one college season seeing him average 13.7 points on 49.8 per cent shooting, while Blake Wesley from Notre Dame also has the potential to also be a valuable arrival.
Losers
New York Knicks
After a poor season that felt like it would at least set them up for a productive draft, the Knicks appeared to overthink things at the draft, or underthink them depending on your viewpoint.
They decided to trade their number 11 pick for three future first-round picks, though none that really hold any value.
They managed to get Walker's contract out the door to the Pistons to free up some salary space, seemingly putting all their eggs in the Jalen Brunson basket, or potentially even Kyrie Irving. However, they only saved $9.2m from Walker's contract, which is not a lot considering they gave up one of their first-round picks.
Who knows if it will pay off, but Knicks fans were almost certainly expecting more.
Washington Wizards
There was nothing particularly wrong with the picks from the Wizards, but as harsh as it may sound, they are in danger of becoming the NBA's dullest team.
A win percentage of 0.427 was down from 0.472 in 2020-21, and it felt like they might need to take a bit of a risk in the draft with their number 10 pick.
Johnny Davis is a fine player, averaging 19.7 points per game for the Wisconsin Badgers last year, the 25th highest in the college game, but someone like Duren could have been a roll of the dice for something to boost that win percentage sometime soon.
Who knows? It could be a sound strategy, but to be frank, it is a strategy that has not been working for the last few years in Washington.
Sacramento Kings
There is some sympathy with the situation the Kings were put in as the extremely obvious pick at four was Ivey, who had expressly said he did not want to go to Sacramento, so they went with Murray instead.
Murray is a fine prospect himself, and arguably a better fit than Ivey for the Kings, but the latter felt like an opportunity to at the very least have significant trade leverage.
Murray did average the fourth-highest points per game average last year with 23.5 for Iowa, while also adding 8.7 rebounds per game, so comes in as a promising addition.
Ivey will inevitably feel like the one who got away if he does what many think he will at Detroit, though, which could bring back memories of when Sacramento failed to take on Luka Doncic in 2018.
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