Rainy conditions at Wimbledon have forced Ashleigh Barty and Karolína Plíšková to train for the Women’s Final side-by-side.

Barty and Plíšková trained side-by-side on Court One this morning due to a rainy morning at Wimbledon. Centre Court and Court One are the only two venues with roofs at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and no players are allowed to practice on Centre Court.

In photos published by Getty, Barty and Plíšková are shown laughing with each other as they train with their respective coaches on the other side of the net. Both players look relaxed as they prepare for their first appearances in the Final of Wimbledon.

World number one Barty is widely considered the favourite to win the Wimbledon title this year, and has been right from the start of the tournament. As the top seed, anything other than reaching the final would have been seen as a major disappointment.

The 25-year-old Australian has won one Grand Slam during her career so far, triumphing at the French Open in 2019. Wimbledon has always been a coveted prize for Barty, who often says she spends the tennis calendar counting down the days until she returns to grass.

Plíšková is also making her Wimbledon Final debut this weekend – she has never even got past the fourth round of the Grand Slam previously, only reaching the round of 16 in 2018 and 2019.

At 29-years-old, Plíšková has appeared in one other Grand Slam final – the 2016 US Open – but she is yet to win a major title. She may be the underdog in her clash with Barty, but her number 13 world ranking and eighth seeding shows she is a player to be reckoned with.

The Wimbledon 2021 Women’s Final begins at 2pm UK time on Centre Court. It will be broadcast live on BBC One.