The Polish tennis player's current season perfectly illustrates the incredible unpredictability of tennis. For months, she struggled to reach the final of any WTA tournament, including those on her favorite surface. On clay, the former world number one missed her last big opportunity, losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals at Roland Garros.
That's when her three-year streak of Grand Slam victories ended in Paris. She'd won a total of four Grand Slam finals there, having previously played five at the highest level. She also won the US Open in 2022, and this week reached her sixth career final at that level. This season has proven to be unlike any other.
Iga Świątek impressed in her sixth Grand Slam final
After unsuccessful tournaments on hard and clay courts, she finally reached the final in Bad Homburg. Although she lost to Jessica Pegula, she proved, to the surprise of many, that she was capable of competing with the best. Lech Sidor, however, had no doubts about this before the start of Wimbledon.
"The claim that Świątek has no chance is complete nonsense. Remember, she's a player who has held the throne for many, many weeks, has won numerous Grand Slam tournaments, and is the biggest star in the company she's competing against today," the Eurosport commentator said back in June. All of this proved true, and the style in which the Polish player reached the final was impressive.
She didn't encounter any big names along the way. After all, Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula all bowed out of Wimbledon in the first few days.
The Polish player defeated Polina Kudiermietova [7:5, 6:1], Caty McNally [5:7, 6:2, 6:1], Danielle Collins [6:2, 6:3], Clara Tauson [6:4, 6:1], Ludmila Samsonova [6:2, 7:5] and Belinda Bencic [6:2, 6:0].
Before reaching the semifinals against the Swiss, Aryna Sabalenka was sensationally eliminated from the tournament. She was defeated in the final by Amanda Anisimova, who faced Świątek in the title match. Anisimova is three months younger than the Polish player, and had previously defeated Yulia Putintseva, Renata Zarazua, Dalma Galfi, Linda Noskova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in London. After defeating the Belarusian, she had to reach her peak against Świątek.
Just a year ago, the American failed to qualify for Wimbledon, and today she made it to the grand final. It didn't start off well for her."Jazda Iga"—that phrase was on the lips of millions of Polish fans and took social media by storm.
Iga Świątek wins a historic title! She conquers Wimbledon for the first time. 6-0, 6-0!
The player from Raszyn listened to her fans and started one of the most important matches of her career in excellent style. She won the first three points, even though Anisomova started the match with her serve. However, she didn't hold her serve, and the 24-year-old took the lead and never gave it back.
She won game after game, and the fans could only applaud her performances. The first senior clash between the two players proved to be exceptionally one-sided. The Pole and the American had previously met only in junior competition. The 15-year-old Świątek defeated her in the Junior Fed Cup.
Anisimova's nightmares from years ago returned to the main stage of world tennis. Our player broke her opponent three times and led 5-0. After 25 minutes of play, she won set point. This came after an incredible run of play, featuring excellent footwork and difficult shots. When she managed to get the ball out at the net, her opponent kicked the ball out, and the crowd cheered. The Pole even apologized for a foul play with her racket frame. Moments later, she capitalized on her first opportunity and took the set 6-0.
The tennis world admired the favorite for her phenomenal performance. The OptaAce account reported that she was"the fourth player in the Open Era to win the first set 6-0 in a women's singles final at Wimbledon, after Billie Jean King (1973, 1975), Chris Evert (1974) and Martina Navratilova (1983)."
In the second set, Świątek wasn't about to give the American any more space. She broke at the first available opportunity and took a 2-0 lead with a successful volley. The Polish player had been waiting for another final since their clash at Roland Garros in 2024. Over a year ago, she defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1, dropping only three games on her favorite surface.
She fared even better on grass, in a season that was already seeing a major crisis for the former WTA number one. After a long period of power play, she broke Anisomova again [3-0], who seemed completely overwhelmed by the importance of the event. Her serve faltered in crucial moments, and on Saturday, without such key elements, it was impossible to beat the Polish player.
She did manage to gain an advantage, but after a few minutes, the Pole managed to take her tenth consecutive game. She refused to let up until the very end, winning by a stunning 6-0, 6-0. Only once before in tennis history had a Wimbledon final ended in such a draw: in 1911, Dorothea Douglass Chambers defeated Dora Boothby.
Iga Świątek has never lost a Grand Slam final and is writing the history of Polish tennis. After sweeping her opponent off the court, she showed wild joy and is the talk of the tennis world. Bravo!
