Amanda Anisimova arrived in her first grand slam final playing the best tennis of her life but, under the stifling pressure of such a significant occasion against one of the greatest big-match players the sport has seen, her afternoon turned into the most difficult day of her career as a supreme Iga Swiatek dismantled the American 6-0, 6-0 in 57 minutes to claim her first Wimbledon title.
This is the first time in the open era that the Wimbledon title has been won with a double bagel. The last 6-0, 6-0 result came in 1911, when the sport barely resembled its current form, with Dorothea Lambert Chambers’s win over Dora Boothby in the challenge match era, a time when the defending champion played just once. Steffi Graf’s 6-0, 6-0 win over Natasha Zverev at the 1988 French Open is the only other grand slam final to be decided by a double bagel in the Open era. Swiatek has now won each of her first six grand slam finals, a reflection of her mental toughness and her readiness to produce her best in the biggest moments.
For so long, grass courts were considered Swiatek’s kryptonite. The ball’s low bounce, many believed, was too disruptive to the Pole’s heavy topspin forehand, her movement was too uncertain and there would always be an opponent capable of blasting her off the court. Sometimes she found herself believing these things, too. Despite how she had dominated for much of the past few years on all other surfaces, the Pole’s previous best result at Wimbledon was a quarter-final in 2023 and she had never won a grass-court title.
“Honestly, I didn’t even dream because for me it was just way too far,” said Swiatek of the idea of winning Wimbledon. “I feel like I’m already an experienced player after winning the slams before but I never really expected this one. I want to thank my team because they believed in me more than I did.”
At the end of a tremendous fortnight on her least successful surface, Swiatek has proven that a player with her rare talent, discipline and sheer force of will has no limitations to their potential. The achievement is even more impressive considering the difficult run of form that directly preceded it. Swiatek, who has spent most of the past few years ranked No 1, is seeded eighth and this is her first title at any level since the 2024 French Open.
The victory marks Swiatek’s sixth grand slam title, which breaks her tie with Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova. With her four French Open triumphs and her victory at the US Open in 2022, the 24-year-old is the eighth woman in the Open era to win major titles on all three surfaces.
Iga Swiatek's 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Amanda Anisimova made her the eighth different women's singles champion at Wimbledon since Serena Williams claimed her second consecutive victory and seventh in total in 2016:
2017 - Garbiñe Muguruza
2018 - Angelique Kerber
2019 - Simona Halep
2021 - Ashleigh Barty
2022 - Elena Rybakina
2023 - Marketa Vondrousova
2024 - Barbora Krejcikova
2025 - Iga Swiatek
A grand slam final is unlike any other occasion in tennis. For those who aren’t prepared for the tension and nerves that accompany being one match away from the ultimate achievement in their sport, these matches play tricks with their minds. Two days after producing an incredible performance to topple the world No 1, Aryna Sabalenka, Anisimova, the 13th seed, simply could not handle the occasion as 28 unforced errors streamed from her racket.
Across the net from Anisimova stood the worst opponent possible in this situation. Not only is the Pole a special big match player, her frontrunning abilities are so notorious that Swiatek’s bakery – derived from the bagel (6-0) and breadstick (6-1) sets she inflicts on her adversaries – has long become a running joke and almost every player on the WTA tour has felt her wrath. This is not even Swiatek’s first double bagel in a significant final – Karolina Pliskova, the former No 1 then ranked ninth, met the same fate in the final of the 2021 Italian Open.
From the first game, as Anisimova sprayed three dire unforced errors to lose her serve, it was clear that the 23-year-old was struggling. While the American’s errors piled up, Swiatek left her with no chance to find a way back in. She smothered Anisimova with her brilliant, relentless returning, she steered the ball into awkward positions and she served brilliantly, landing an outstanding 78% of her first serves. She also kept her unforced error count extremely low and her supreme defensive skills meant it was so difficult for Anisimova to consistently put the ball past her the few times she did time the ball well.
Swiatek’s first Wimbledon title was sealed with a final brilliant down-the-line backhand winner, which she reacted to by collapsing on to the ground in total disbelief. After their warm handshake, Anisimova momentarily departed Centre Court in an attempt to compose herself while Swiatek entered the crowd to embrace her team and family. Anisimova was understandably still tearful as she began her post-match interview but she composed herself well and, before leaving the court, she had already begun to look ahead.
“I think I was a little bit in shock after,” said Anisimova. “But I told myself: ‘I’ll definitely come out stronger after this.’ I mean, that’s not an easy thing to go through, losing 0-0 in a grand slam final. If anything, I can look at it as a positive and something I can look at as motivation going forward.”
