Saturday’s final between Poland’s Iga Swiatek and 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova will be momentous in more ways than one. A ninth different woman will lift the Venus Rosewater dish in nine years at SW19, and – after Serena Williams back-to-back in 2015 and 2016 – it will be an eighth consecutive time a first-time champion will be crowned. Indeed, only once in the past 11 years has a top-five seed returned triumphant at Wimbledon and that streak of against-the-odds winners will continue as well.
– IGA SWIATEK arrives in the title clash as the eighth seed, perhaps an oddity for a player going for her sixth Major, which would mean she will have the most among active players. The Polish 24-year-old is the only active women’s player to have even reached the final of Majors on all three surfaces.
Swiatek arrived in London on the back of her worst season since she made her mark among women’s tennis’ elite. But her record at the Majors was strong. Some tempering of her natural aggressive style, more confidence in her serving, and a relatively easy draw, with many top names falling away, has put her on the cusp of a title that would truly put her among some of the contemporary greats.
– AMANDA ANISIMOVA holds the chance to become the fourth consecutive player to be ranked outside the top 10 to win Wimbledon. Each of them had quite a few things in common: none were given a chance ahead of the tournament, all had refined grass-court games, and all beat top 10 players in the final. Good omens for the American.
Anisimova was an unheralded semifinalist as a teenager back in 2019 at Roland Garros. From there, after years of turmoil, she had gone so far into the wilderness that she lost in the qualifying round at last year’s Championships, making her the only player to reach the Wimbledon final in the Open Era after failing to even qualify for the main draw in the previous year.
KEY STATS:
78: After Swiatek’s clay crown slipped following a semifinal exit at last month’s French Open, few would have expected her to produce the goods at Wimbledon. Key to her revival has been the success on her first serve: she has won 78% of the points behind it, the best for any player at Wimbledon that made it past the first round.
28: For Anisimova, a fast start may be the critical factor to win her first Major. She is on a remarkable, peculiar run, having won each of her last 28 matches in which she wins the first set, including in the semifinal against top seed Sabalenka, who threatened a comeback but was eventually blunted by the American.
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3: Anisimova is only the third player to defeat Aryna Sabalenka on all three surfaces at WTA level, along with Kiki Bertens and Marketa Vondrousova. Firefight.
24y 30d: Swiatek is the youngest player to reach the final on all three surfaces in Women’s Singles Grand Slam events since Justine Henin in 2003. And she is the inly active player to reach the final on all three surfaces in Women’s Singles Grand Slam events.
4: Anisimova is only the fourth player to defeat the WTA #1 at Wimbledon en route their respective first Grand Slam final after Zina Garrison (1990), Marion Bartoli (2007) and Sabine Lisicki (2013). She is also only the third player to defeat Sabalenka on all three surfaces at WTA level, along with Kiki Bertens and Marketa Vondrousova. Firefight.
QUOTES CORNER
“Honestly, I never even dreamt that it was possible for me to play the final. I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising me … I thought I had experienced everything on the court, but I hadn’t experienced playing well on grass. That’s the first time,”
– Iga Swiatek (on improving her grass court game)
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“A lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game. So just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself, that’s been incredibly special to me,”
– Amanda Anismova (on her mental health break in 2023)
(Stat inputs via Opta)
