What a difference five weeks can make. Last month Iga Swiatek, overwhelmed by her own doubts, relinquished the French Open crown she’d held since 2022. Her aura of invincibility was shot to pieces. She’d already lost her world No 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka towards the end of last season after testing positive for a substance she’d inadvertently taken in a contaminated medicine; while she was banned for only one month, the mental toll had lasted for much longer. And as she left Paris, having failed to reach a final in 12 months, let alone win a title, it’s fair to say she was at a career low.
Some questioned (me included) if the Pole would ever win another slam; parallels were even drawn with Bjorn Borg’s sudden demise after his period of Wimbledon domination ended in 1981. He retired 18 months later aged 26, burnt out and disillusioned, having lost his relentless will to win. Was Swiatek, at the age of 24, in danger of going the same way? Certainly in the short-term no one expected her to do much at Wimbledon, given that the former Queen of Clay had always been among the mere ranks on grass, having never been beyond the quarter-finals, despite her status as a junior champion in 2018.
But thanks to a grass-court training camp in Mallorca and a confidence-building run to the Bad Homburg final, and fuelled by a Wimbledon diet of strawberries and cream pasta, she has grabbed every opportunity (and towel) that has come her way this fortnight as the players in her half of the draw – most notably Coco Gauff and the former champ Elena Rybakina – departed. At last, Swiatek says, the balls are listening to her on the grass. She looks happy and relaxed. She’s shown more of her personality in the on-court interviews. And she goes into this final as the favourite.
But Amanda Anisimova is enjoying an empowering revival of her own. Having come within a few games of reaching the French Open final as a 17-year-old prodigy in 2019, the American took an eight-month break from the game in 2023 because of burnout. She didn’t even get through Wimbledon qualifying last year. But she held her nerve brilliantly against Aryna Sabalenka in Friday’s semi-final, displaying courage every bit as big as her shots.
She wants this just as much as Swiatek does; victory would be so self-affirming for either. I wish they could split it, but I’m not sure the All England Club would countenance the beautiful Venus Rosewater Dish being cut in half. Add into the mix they’ve never played each other before on tour, and that makes this unexpected final even more intriguing.
Play begins: in a departure from tradition at 4pm BST. And remember you can get in touch in the usual way. It would be great to hear from you.