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Iga Swiatek Credits ‘Lower Expectations’ After Wimbledon Triumph: 'No One was Telling Me to Win'

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Gouri Das | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 8:50 AM ET

Iga Swiatek, for sure, was not at all a heavy favorite to win Wimbledon, given that on grass, she had struggled a lot. Along with that, she was dealing with a lot of doubts as singles titles had eluded her since her victory at the French Open last year.

But to everyone’s surprise, Swiatek wrapped up the tournament in her favor, winning her sixth Grand Slam title as well as her first on grass. She has now become the youngest woman since 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams to win Majors on all three surfaces. The 24-year-old is also the fifth youngest woman to capture Majors on different surfaces.

In the final she played on Saturday (July 12), the Pole showed no mercy to Amanda Anisimova, handing her a double bagel, leaving the watchers of the match in absolute disbelief. Swiatek took a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head meeting.

She has become only the second woman after Steffi Graf (at the 1988 French Open) to win a Major with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline. At the press conference after her win, she said the lower expectations from people helped her focus more on her game.

Well…even if, finally no one was telling me to win everything. Coming here, I could really focus on getting better and developing as a player rather than everybody just asking me to win, win and nothing is good besides winning. Even if it was too big of a story, I kind of enjoyed that, because the expectations were a bit lower.

It was Swiatek’s sixth Grand Slam final. She has become the third woman in the Open Era after Monica Seles and Margaret Court to win their first six Major singles finals.

Grass, mastered.

Iga Swiatek is Poland's first Wimbledon singles champion pic.twitter.com/5fsPpX4ANC
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2025

Marion Bartoli explains what will happen to Iga Swiatek during the hard-court swing

Iga Swiatek will complete the Career Grand Slam if she lifts the Australian Open, where she has not yet reached the final but was a semifinalist in 2022 and 2025. The Citi Open will mark the start of the North American hard-court swing and according to former player Marion Bartoli is expecting nothing but strong performances from the youngster in the hard-court Majors.

I think coming now saying that I can win across the board on any surface, I am the women’s champion winning 6-0, 6-0 in the final, you can’t tell me I am not a complete player anymore. I think that will very much carry her momentum towards the hard-court season with the US Open and Australian Open.
Marion Bartoli on BBC

The six-time Grand Slam champion has now won more Grand Slam titles than greats of the game like Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis. She will join Venus Williams, Justine Henin, and Evonne Goolagong if she wins another Major.

Swiatek will also officially occupy the third spot on the rankings on Monday by removing Jessica Pegula. Amanda Anisimova will reach her career-best No.7 ranking.

Before losing to Swiatek, the 23-year-old had knocked out World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to improve her head-to-head record to 6-3. Swiatek, on the other hand, stormed past Belinda Bencic in the last four. Before Wimbledon, Anisimova had never reached a Grand Slam final.

Also before Wimbledon, both the players reached the final of a grass-court tournament for the first time. Swiatek lost to Pegula at the Bad Homburg Open, while Anisimova was defeated in the Queen’s Club Championships final by Tatjana Maria.

For Swiatek, Wimbledon was her first title of the season. Anisimova had lifted her first back in February by beating Jelena Ostapenko in the Qatar Open final, capturing her first WTA 1000 title.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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