The grass season is well and truly underway as players look to hone their games in the scant weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.  Just as there are some intriguing storylines on which to keep tabs for the men, there are also plenty on the women's side.  In fact, given how wide open the women's game has been for the better of a year, there are perhaps even more.

Much as she was heading into Roland Garros, Serena Williams will enter Wimbledon as arguably the biggest question mark.  Fans have seen precious little of the American as she looks to fully return from maternity leave, but they finally got a decent sample of where her game is with her play at Roland Garros.  Her level of play seemed to be quickly and increasingly improving with each passing round before an injury forced her withdrawal prior to her much-anticipated Round-of-16 clash with Maria Sharapova. 

The consensus following her withdrawal, however, was that she would be ready for Wimbledon.  Wimbledon certainly better suits her style of play, and she has enjoyed quite a bit more success in London than in Paris.  Granted, this year more than most, her odds for success could potentially hinge more on where she falls in the draw but given what she showed in Paris and her record at the All England Club, the bar is going to be set higher for the former Number 1 come Wimbledon than it was at Roland Garros.

Albeit for different reasons, Maria Sharapova is also someone looking to rebuild her ranking.  Unlike Williams, Sharapova has been back for a while and notched some matches under her belt.  She really appeared to be close to her best with her results this past clay season, including a quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros.  Furthermore, although she has twice won Roland Garros, Wimbledon was the site of her first major title.  It is also a surface that favors her style of play, which is to overwhelm her opposition with a barrage of power from both wings.  But there has to be some concern with her opting to withdraw from Birmingham and given how much her own comeback has been frustratingly marked by pockets of “stop-and-go” due to injuries, she is definitely a wild card heading into the year's third major.

Newly-crowned Roland Garros Champion Simona Halep is a bit of a wild card as well.  The Romanian was forced to pull out of Eastbourne next week, citing pain in her Achilles, which has plagued her in recent months, including at Roland Garros.  Hopefully, she will win the race to be fit for Wimbledon because as the current Number 1, who has reached the final of the last two majors, it will be very entertaining to see if she could continue her good run of fortune by pulling off a similar result at the All England Club.

A woman no stranger to success at SW 19 is Petra Kvitova.  The quiet Czech seems to always fly under the radar, but she might just be the one fans, and pundits should be watching in the weeks to come.  She has played some good tennis already this week in Birmingham, and as a two-time champion, Wimbledon has traditionally been a tournament where she can flip the switch to find her best tennis.  With so many of the other heavy-hitters short on match play and facing dodgy health concerns, she could be the unofficial favorite to go all the way to claim a third Wimbledon crown.

Regardless of what unfolds in the coming weeks, these and many of the other women of the WTA should make it interesting.  There is apt to be plenty to dissect and should provide a glimpse of what could be in store with the summer hard-court season remarkably just around the corner.