London (AP) Iga Swiatek never felt completely at ease on the grass courts at Wimbledon for years, and she never imagined that she would be able to add a trophy there to her prior Grand Slam victories. Oh, did that prove to be incorrect. and in what way.
In addition to being the All England Club champion, Swiatek defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday in the tournament’s first women’s final in 114 years, during which no participant lost a single match.
Swiatek, a 24-year-old Pole who is currently 6-0 in major title bouts, described it as “seemingly unbelievable.”
That also accurately sums up how she faced the 13th-seeded Anisimova, a 23-year-old American playing in her maiden Slam final, at a sunny and windy Centre Court.
It only took 57 minutes, and Kate, the Princess of Wales, was present to deliver the prizes while seated in the Royal Box. The last time the Wimbledon women’s final was 6-0, 6-0 was in 1911.
To be really honest, I never even dreamed about this because, to me, it was just, like, much too far. “Swiatek said.” After winning the Slams in the past, I feel like I’m a seasoned player, but I wasn’t prepared for this one.
Even though she only needed to produce 10 winners, she managed to win 55 of Saturday’s 79 points. Anisimova committed 28 unforced mistakes and was unsteady from the beginning.
You’re a really amazing player. Anisimova informed Swiatek that it was evident today. I’ve been greatly inspired by you. An amazing athlete.
This is Swiatek’s first time competing in a grass-court competition as a professional, despite having already won four titles on the French Open’s red clay and one on the U.S. Open’s hard courts. Additionally, it put an end to a protracted drought for Swiatek, who last took home a trophy at Roland-Garros in June 2024, more than a year ago.
Despite being the eighth consecutive first-time women’s Wimbledon champion, Swiatek’s victory stands out due of its incredible dominance.
Although Anisimova defeated No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals on Thursday and won her first-round match less than two weeks ago by a score of 6-0, 6-0, she never seemed like the same player this time. Absolutely not.
Swiatek advised Anisimova to be proud of her efforts regardless of what transpired today.
When it was ended, Anisimova sat on the bench crying, while Swiatek went into the seats to join her team in celebrating.
Her only previous final on the slippery court was when she finished second at a warm-up tournament in Germany just before Wimbledon started. Swiate had never advanced past the All England Club quarterfinals.
Although Swiatek was seeded No. 8 at Wimbledon, she spent the most of 2022, 2023, and 2024 at the top of the WTA rankings.After failing an out-of-competition drug test last year, she was given a one-month doping penalty; an investigation revealed that she had unintentionally come into contact with a tainted medication used to treat jet lag and sleep issues.
Born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, Anisimova advanced to the 2019 French Open semifinals at the age of 17. Soon later, her father passed away. In a rare occasion, Anisimova’s mother traveled to England on Saturday to see one of her daughter’s matches.
Through tears, Anisimova addressed her mother directly, saying, “Thank you for being here and breaking the superstition of flying in.” She added, “My mom is the most selfless person I know, and she’s done everything to get me to this point in my life.”
Anisimova laughed and said, “It’s definitely not why I lost today.”
A little over two years ago, she took a break from the tour due to exhaustion. She lost in the preliminary tournament last year when she attempted to qualify for Wimbledon because her ranking of 189th was too low to automatically enter into the field.
She will now make her debut appearance in the top 10 rankings.
For me, the past two weeks have been extraordinary. Anisimova told the audience, “You guys have been there for me and lifted me up today, even though I ran out of gas a bit today and I wish I could put on a better performance for all of you.”
