Petra Kvitová was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Williams.[3] With the loss ofMaria Sharapova in the fourth round, a first time finalist was guaranteed at the top half of the draw.
Yaroslava Shvedova was the first player in the Open Era to win a 'golden set' at Wimbledon, winning the first set of her 6–0, 6–4 victory over thereigning French Open runner-up and 10th seedSara Errani in the third round without dropping a single point.[4]
Sabine Lisicki defeated the reigningFrench Open champion (the incumbent world No. 1, Sharapova) en route to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the third straight time. She previously defeatedLi Na in2011 andSvetlana Kuznetsova in2009, and missed the 2010 championships due to injury.
Victoria Azarenka regained theworld No. 1 singles ranking by reaching the quarterfinals after Sharapova failed to reach the final. Four of the top five seeds were in contention for the top ranking during the tournament.