'I keep surprising myself': Swiatek conquers grass as Slam total flourishes

Five days before she would win her first title at the All England Club, Iga Swiatek was practicing out on Court 16 with an attacking intensity that nearly defied description. She’s always been a twitchy, fidgety player, feet never stopping, but this was something entirely different.

Hugging the baseline, swinging with unusual gusto against a male hitting partner, Swiatek was in hyperkinetic, uber-aggressive mode. After some serious discussions with her coach Wim Fissette about adapting her game to grass, she finally agreed to leave her clay comfort cocoon and, against her nature, play with less patience and accept more risk.

The reward on Saturday was extraordinary.

Swiatek completely overwhelmed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0, in a 57-minute Wimbledon final. It was only the second time in the Open Era that the women’s winner pitched a complete-game shutout in a Grand Slam final; Steffi Graf, in the midst of her epic 1988 season, did it at Roland Garros.

“It seems super surreal,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview, capturing the mood.

Later, talking with reporters, she elaborated.

“I’m just proud of myself because, yeah, who would have expected that?” Swiatek said. “I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself.”

Not only did this victory consolidate Swiatek’s reputation as the best player of her generation, it defined her as the consummate closer. This was her sixth Grand Slam singles final -- and it yielded her sixth title, captured perfectly by that 6-0, 6-0 score.

Swiatek joined Margaret Court and Monica Seles as the only women in the Open Era to win their first six Grand Slam singles finals. On the men's side, Roger Federer won his first seven, and Carlos Alcaraz can equal Swiatek in Sunday’s final against Jannik Sinner.

In the excruciating pressure of those six Slam finals, Swiatek won 12 of 13 sets. She’s played in 29 finals in her career -- and won 24.

“I think tennis is a mental sport, but also you need everything to win tournaments,” Swiatek said. “Like good tennis, good physicality, being also not tired, have good matches before so you don’t spend too much time on the court, having great focus.

“When I watched other players playing, I could see the difference in the level. Finals sometimes are a bit ugly because there’s so much stress and everything. I kind of used the experience from before.”

Swiatek has a propensity for delivering 6-0 “bagels,” but to close out her run to the Wimbledon title with three in a row and 20 straight games -- Belinda Bencic lost 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals -- seems, well, super surreal.

After a difficult year (she hadn't won a title since 2024 Roland Garros), Swiatek has regained her championship equilibrium. The rest of you Hologic WTA Tour players? You’ve been warned.

With four titles at Roland Garros and one at the US Open, this major was always going to be the most difficult for Swiatek. But like her idol Rafael Nadal, she eventually solved the mysteries of grass and has now won three of the four majors -- on three different surfaces. Only eight women have ever done that. The seven before Swiatek: Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlikova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Ashleigh Barty.

One month past her 24th birthday, Swiatek is the fifth-youngest woman to win majors on three different surfaces, the youngest since Serena Williams in 2002 and the only active player with that distinction.

The only missing major, the Australian Open played on hard courts, seems inevitable. Here’s the Hall of Fame short list of women who have won a career Grand Slam in the more than half-century of the Open Era: Court, Evert, Navratilova, Graf, S. Williams and Sharapova.

“For sure, it feels like the emotions are bigger because on Roland Garros I know I can play well, and I know I can show it every year,” Swiatek explained. “Here, I wasn’t sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself.

“This one and the US Open for sure feel better because no one expected that. It wasn’t a relief. It was more of just good tennis and working to make it happen, yeah, without this baggage on your shoulders.”

Some additional context: Swiatek now has one more major title than Martina Hingis and Sharapova. Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Evonne Goolagong, with seven, are next.

Swiatek won her only junior major title at the All England Club, but had always viewed a senior championship as out of reach. As she accepted the Venus Rosewater Dish from Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, Swiatek seemed to be in a daze. A little later, when they had a more private conversation, she was still numb.

“I don’t remember really because I was too overwhelmed,” Swiatek said. “I didn’t want to do any faux pas. I wanted to behave well.”

For a fortnight here, she couldn’t have been any better.