Swiatek chuffed with ‘unexpected’ breakthrough at Wimbledon

Iga Swiatek’s 125 mixed weeks as World No. 1 is the seventh greatest within the historical past of the ladies’s sport. No participant above her within the record remains to be taking part in and the subsequent greatest energetic star under the Pole is Victoria Azarenka at 51, adopted by Aryna Sabalenka at 46.

But, for a part of the final yr, she regarded removed from the participant who was as soon as on the trail in the direction of dominance. She had no trophy to point out since successful the 2024 French Open, and since then till Wimbledon 2025, she had a 9-8 report towards fellow top-10 gamers, a middling metric.

However her victory on Saturday on the All England Membership, which got here with a chastening 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Amanda Anisimova, has introduced her firmly again into the dialog.

“It’s simply surreal,” Swiatek mentioned after the triumph which can assist her return to the WTA top-three on Monday. “I really feel like tennis retains stunning me, and I maintain stunning myself. It means so much, particularly after a season with a variety of ups and downs, and a variety of expectations from the surface.”

Requested to match her grass breakthrough together with her different Slam successes, the four-time Roland-Garros winner selected to not rank it however mentioned it was “particular” and “surprising”.

“Roland-Garros, I do know I can play properly, and present it yearly. Right here [at SW19], I wasn’t certain of that. I additionally wanted to show that to myself. So this one and the US Open for certain really feel like simply ‘higher’ as a result of nobody anticipated.”

Swiatek was the eighth seed at Wimbledon however the 24-year-old mentioned that it was neither a bonus nor a drawback.

“It didn’t actually matter as a result of I targeted a lot on simply creating as a participant on grass. For certain, I used to be shocked with the consistency. I don’t assume I [have] ever served so properly.

“I do know in my thoughts that I could be targeted and never waste factors. My stage of tennis helped maintain that at a relentless stage.”