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In the coming months, if and when her schedule allows, Iga Swiatek will make a pilgrimage to London and the All England Club, the scene of her biggest and, she admits, most surprising triumph. In July, the 24-year-old won her first Wimbledon title and sixth grand slam title in all, crushing a hapless Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the final.
It was the undoubted highlight of an up-and-down year for the Pole, who struggled on her best surface of clay but who will end 2025 ranked No 2, her fourth year in a row finishing inside the world’s top two.
It is a quirk unique to Wimbledon that the singles’ champions are given honorary membership to the All England Club, granting them access any time they choose. Like many before her, Swiatek is keen to experience the sport’s most storied venue when fans and her fellow players are not around.
“I wonder how it feels,” she says. “I will be back for sure. I would love to. I have no idea how that works, though. I heard once Roger [Federer] wasn’t let in when he didn’t have a proper badge or something, so I would need to get ready.” The Swiss was initially turned away in late 2022 when he did not bring his membership card.
So strong on clay, with four French Open titles in the past six years, Swiatek had previously regarded Wimbledon with caution, wary of the surface, unsure if her skills would translate. But after an unusually tough time on the red stuff, she gained extra practice by playing in a warm-up event in Germany and found her game to record a stunning triumph.
“Any season that has a Wimbledon win, I would take without hesitation,” she says. “I’m super proud of this achievement. This is something I wasn’t expecting to happen this year. I thought I [would] need a couple more years to learn how to play on grass and to use my skills for the surface. But I felt great.
“We worked hard before Wimbledon to change some tactical patterns I also had in my head and wasn’t really using in previous years. I felt, day by day, I had my game, and I really used the opportunity. Having that win changed everything.”
Until that point, her season had been largely disappointing, at least by the incredible standards she has set in recent years. One point away from reaching the Australian Open final in January, she did not make a final until June. There were surprise losses on clay, although her run to the semis at the French Open seemed to restore belief.
At Wimbledon, from 2-2 in the first set of her semi-final against Belinda Bencic, she won 22 straight games, blitzing Anisimova in the first double bagel in the women’s final since 1911. It was a crowning moment for Swiatek, even if she found some of the questions immediately after a little baffling.
“I wasn’t really thinking about how it looks, I was just playing, and I didn’t want to give any points for free,” she says.
“It’s a Wimbledon final, I wanted to win it really bad.
“After, for sure, there were a lot of crazy things happening. I remember all these interviews about the score, journalists asking questions if I should let Amanda win one game or something like that. It was pretty different.
“I can only say that this tournament shows tennis is [such a] mental sport. This part of the game has a huge impact on everything and on the results of each player. I’m really happy I handled the pressure well, because after the final, everybody was talking about Amanda being stressed or something, but I was also stressed as hell; playing the final of Wimbledon on Centre Court is a surreal experience.”
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Swiatek is speaking after visiting the Zurich headquarters of her clothing sponsor, On, a last obligation of another long season, in which she played 80 matches, the most on the WTA Tour. After a brief holiday in Mauritius, pre-season begins for Swiatek in early December and though all top players are mandated to play a minimum number of events, she is planning to cut down her commitments in 2026.
“I would like to try missing maybe two tournaments – maybe the ones I feel I haven’t been playing well at anyway – just spending this time on grinding and getting the technique better,” she says. “I think it will help me also play a little bit better under stress, because my body will remember the proper movements and what it learned during this practice time.
“Mentally, it can give me a lot of confidence, knowing I worked hard. Then I can come to tournaments a little bit better prepared, because for sure, playing all mandatory tournaments now, most players will tell you they’re not always 100% ready to play every one of these.”
Swiatek needs the Australian Open to complete the career grand slam, something only 10 women have accomplished. It will not be easy, not just with Aryna Sabalenka ahead of her at No 1, but with a top 10 she feels has bunched up over the past 12 months. Not surprisingly, she and her coach, Wim Fissette, have a plan to stay on top.
“There is a lot of stuff I learned this year that I started doing, but couldn’t really mix it well with how I’ve been playing for the past seasons,” she says.
“My goal overall will be to combine that with good balance, still keep my good game on the slower surfaces … to really feel more comfortable with the variety I’ve got and know exactly where to use what skill.”
