'It was super close': Jessica Pegula shares what she noticed about Iga Swiatek ahead of Wimbledon

Iga Swiatek achieved what no Polish player had before her in the history of tennis just nine days ago, winning a Wimbledon title. In the final, she outclassed America’s Amanda Anisimova in straight sets with a score of 6-0, 6-0. While doing so, Swiatek becomes the first player in more than 100 years to win a women’s Wimbledon final without losing a single game.

The triumph was significant for Swiatek, not only because it was her first Wimbledon title but also because it was her first title since lifting the French Open in 2024. Before this edition, Swiatek never managed to play in the semifinal of the competition. Her best outing was losing in the quarterfinal to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in 2023.

Before entering the competition, Swiatek featured in the Hamburg Open, where she secured a spot in the final for the first time in 2025. That final did not go down as Swiatek was expecting it to be, as she lost to America’s Jessica Pegula in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-5. Pegula, unlike Swiatek, had a horrid time at Wimbledon, where she was knocked out after losing to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.

Pegula is now set to return to the court after a three-week gap, as she will feature in the upcoming DC Open in Washington. Speaking ahead of the competition with the media, Pegula discussed what she noticed had changed in Swiatek’s game in the final during the Hamburg Open, just before the start of Wimbledon.

“I thought she was serving a lot bigger,” said Pegula. “I didn’t really watch her much during Wimbledon. I’m not sure if that was better. But she was serving really big in Bad Homburg and playing good tennis and beat good grass court players. I thought our final was a really high level. It was super close. You know she is always kind of down on herself about grass, and I was like, ‘Hey, you’re playing really good on grass, ‘I’m not really sure why you think you’re bad on grass or what it is’. So it was kind of funny she ended up winning Wimbledon. I was like, of course I said that and we had that moment when we played in the final and then she wins Wimbledon, but that’s just tennis for you. You never kind of know. She’s a great player anyway, so she’s going to be good on any surface. But yeah, it is interesting for…tennis is weird. You have a lot of weird things that happen over the course of two weeks.”

After winning the Wimbledon title, Swiatek expressed her feelings in a post on her Instagram account where she talked in detail about how winning the Grand Slam on a grass court was a ‘distant dream’ for her. Swiatek stated that she will never ‘forget’ about her feelings while lifting the title.

“Winning Wimbledon was always such a distant dream for me that it actually has never crossed my mind to think about it,” she wrote. “It's hard to describe the emotions that arise in me now that this dream has come true. Even after these few days I am still putting it together in my mind. I am very happy and proud that working day after day and having the support of my team in every situation (as I said after the game, sometimes they believed in me more than I believed in myself), we achieved something so magical. Now I understand this uniqueness and, in a way, the momentousness of this tournament. I will never forget these emotions and experiences as much as I will always remember how much work on and off the court it cost me to get to this place. And now it's time to catch my breath.”