Iga Swiatek smashed through her grass ceiling as she reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
The 24-year-old, a four-time French Open champion, swept aside Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5 on Court One.
Swiatek has never before been able to convincingly transfer her clay-court nous to the lawns of SW19.
Jazda! 🇵🇱
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2025
Iga Swiatek defeats Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 to reach her first #Wimbledon semi-final 👏 pic.twitter.com/AWlIo5Jsbg
But after losing her Roland Garros crown last month, the Polish star looks determined to finally open her turf account.
“It feels great. Even though it’s the middle of the tournament I got goosebumps after this win,” she said.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing this year and hopefully it’s going to last as long as possible. This year I feel I can work with it.”
Swiatek’s previous best run was to the quarter-finals in 2023, but she says she feels more confident on the grass now.
SWIATEK 🤝 SEMIS@iga_swiatek has secured her spot in the #Wimbledon semifinals after defeating Samsonova in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5! pic.twitter.com/FWTfHhkB9x
— wta (@WTA) July 9, 2025
“I still feel like in 2023 I had a great tournament, and I was playing good tennis, but it obviously wasn’t enough to go further,” she added.
“This year, yeah, I mean, I feel like I developed as a player, and I had time to practice a little bit more.
“Match by match my confidence, for sure, went up so that I can use it on these Championships.
“I’m just happy with the work that I’ve been doing and proud of myself, yeah.”
A comfortable victory means the prospect of a mouthwatering first grand slam final between Swiatek and the woman who replaced her as world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, remains on the cards.
Standing in her way is Swiss 28-year-old Belinda Bencic, who has made a remarkable comeback following the birth of daughter Bella in April last year.
“I never doubted that she can’t come back after pregnancy,” said Swiatek. “She seems like she’s in a good mood and she’s playing well.”
Samsonova, the 19th seed from Russia, was making her first appearance in a grand slam quarter-final, and it showed.
She made 18 unforced errors as Swiatek raced away with the first set and back-to-back double faults gifted the eighth seed a break at the start of the second.
Having lost seven straight games the 26-year-old began to swing more freely and managed to reel Swiatek back in at 4-4.
However, Swiatek brought up two match points and converted the second with a forehand winner, wrapping up victory in an hour and 49 minutes.
