Ice Cool Swiatek Wins First Wimbledon As Anisimova Freezes

Forbes

19 hours ago

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning Championship point against ... More Amanda Anisimova of United States in the Ladies' Singles Final on day thirteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by)
A women's singles final at Wimbledon between Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek wasn't considered a potential drama in the pre-Championship script, and the writers didn't have much to work with in the end. The sixth seed beat Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in just 57 minutes to claim her maiden SW19 crown as the American was stricken with performance anxiety throughout.
It was the second whitewash in a ladies' singles final in the Open Era, following on from Steffi Graf's 1988 dismantling of Natasha Zvereva at Roland Garros. That demolition lasted 34 minutes when the former Soviet player was so devastated she couldn't talk immediately afterwards. Anisimova managed that at least with grace and some strands of humor amid the tears that eventually flowed. Dorothea Lambert Chambers also won the 1911 Wimbledon final 6-0 6-0.
Swiatek's greater Grand Slam experience, movement, shot-making and mastery over nerves was the key in making it over the line for the very first time on what was her least favorite surface not so long ago. The improvement has been coming after an impressive run to the Bad Homburg final last month.
The grass is definitely greener for the Queen of clay. The only time the new champion showed doubt was when she was trying to grasp the enormity of the win. 'I feel like I am an experienced player but I never expected this win. My team believed in me more than I did.'
This was the first time the All England Club had pushed the start time back to 4pm local time - 11am in New York. Centre Court ticket-holders had paid from between £240 to £315 for an hour of elite tennis that never threatened to be competitive.
While Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are constantly fighting over the major crown jewels across three different continents, the ladies' Wimbledon title has been an open lottery since 2017. Swiatek is now the eighth different winner in the last eight years, following on from the Serena Williams era.
When Anisimova lost the Queen's final last month to 37-year-old Tatyana Maria, she was totally bemused by the German's cat and mouse tactics. The American still won eight games and could afford to feel good about herself about a week well spent. She has been superb in London twice until the last day.
If Ons Jabeur's Wimbledon final woes were agonizing watches mixed with some coherent tennis, Anisimova needed the panic room from the very start. The first game nerves on serve were part of a bigger inferiority complex. Alarms bells were ringing before the match began as she couldn't land balls inside the court in the warm-up.
'I was a bit frozen there with my nerves,' said Anisimova after the match. 'Maybe the lastmtwo weeks I got a bit tired. I didn't practise yesterday. I think that I was just really fatigued. I could feel it also in my warm-up this morning," said the 23-year-old.
This was rarefied air for the 13th seed whose only other business end appearance in a Slam was making the 2019 French Open semifinals. She lost to Ashleigh Barty as a 17-year-old who was supposed to take on the world, if not conquer it. Then real life happened as her father passed and the travails of the tour became too much. She returned at the beginning of 2024 after a seven-month break for mental health reasons, refreshed and ready to fight back.
On Saturday afternoon in searing London heat, there was none of the surefire strut that overcame top seed and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. Sabalenka was a little ungracious in her press conference when she pronounced that the trophy was Swiatek's to take if her big rival beat Belinda Bencic.
The battle between the ears was no contest. If Anisimova had converted a couple of game points at 0-2, the scoreboard would have at least looked respectable in early exchanges. She couldn't buy a first serve and won only a quarter of her first delivery points. In contrast, her opponent won 21 out of 29 and didn't suffer a single break point.
Swiatek had become vulnerable after dropping from her no. 1 perch and failing to reach a WTA or major final since claiming the 2024 Roland Garros title. A one-month doping ban served where she bore 'no significant fault' for a contaminated sleeping tablet also didn't help her equilibrium. The devastating Olympic semifinal loss in Paris on her favorite piece of red dust was just the start of the knockbacks.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Amanda Anisimova of United States appears emotional during the Ladies' ... More Singles Final against Iga Swiatek of Poland on day thirteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by)
At Wimbledon, equanimity has returned to the Polish pocket battleship. The freedom of playing as if it means nothing when it means everything is something that only the elite possesses. When Swiatek's cojones met Anisimova's clear sense of helplessness, things got ugly. Incredibly, the 2018 girls' singles winner won the last 20 games of her senior 2025 tournament.
Swiatek is now 6-0 in major finals compared to Sabalenka's record of three wins from six and Coco Gauff's two from three. After a barren run, the 24-year-old now looks on a roll, echoing the kind of ruthlessness she displayed in that purple patch of 2022 when winning big in straight sets became a formality.
Anisimova handled defeat well in front of the audience and the press, but must have been devastated that her nerves didn't let her body do the talking. Swiatek is out on the town and in the mood for a Champions' Ball. It could be 6-0 6-0 again if Alcaraz joins her by claiming his sixth win in majors on Sunday evening.