Swiatek chuffed with ‘unexpected’ breakthrough at Wimbledon
Iga Swiatek’s 125 combined weeks as World No. 1 is the seventh best in the history of the women’s game. No player above her in the list is still playing and the next best active star below the Pole is Victoria Azarenka at 51, followed by Aryna Sabalenka at 46.
Yet, for a good part of the last year, she looked far from the player who was once on the path towards dominance. She had no trophy to show since winning the 2024 French Open, and since then until Wimbledon 2025, she had a 9-8 record against fellow top-10 players, a middling metric.
But her victory on Saturday at the All England Club, which came with a chastening 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Amanda Anisimova, has brought her firmly back into the conversation.
“It’s just surreal,” Swiatek said after the triumph which will help her return to the WTA top-three on Monday. “I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself. It means a lot, especially after a season with a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of expectations from the outside.”
Asked to compare her grass breakthrough with her other Slam successes, the four-time Roland-Garros winner chose not to rank it but said it was “special” and “unexpected”.
“Roland-Garros, I know I can play well, and show it every year. Here [at SW19], I wasn’t sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself. So this one and the US Open for sure feel like just ‘better’ because no one expected.”
Swiatek was the eighth seed at Wimbledon but the 24-year-old said that it was neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.
“It didn’t really matter because I focused so much on just developing as a player on grass. For sure, I was surprised with the consistency. I don’t think I [have] ever served so well.
“I know in my mind that I can be focused and not waste points. My level of tennis helped keep that at a constant level.”
Iga Swiatek's Wimbledon victory propels her back into the top three, surprising herself and the tennis world. | Source: The Hindu
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