For weeks last year, while back home in Warsaw, Iga Swiatek spent time with friends and even formed new connections, but there was one truth she kept hidden. Hanging over her was a doping case she dared not disclose. “Obviously, in the back of my mind," she said Saturday evening at the All England Club, "I had this thing.” (Photos: AFP)
Updated On: 2025-07-13 06:01 PM IST
Compiled by : Srijanee Majumdar
And so, her 6–0, 6–0 demolition of Amanda Anisimova in just 57 minutes to claim her first Wimbledon title was more than a career milestone, it was a personal reckoning. A statement. A return. Swiatek became the youngest woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces, clay, hard court, and now grass. The 24-year-old Pole needs only the Australian Open to complete a career Grand Slam.
This particular win, however, wasn’t simply about mastering a new surface. It followed a turbulent 12 months and served as a testament to resilience, self-belief, and growth. "The lesson is just that even when you feel like you're not on a good path, you can always get back to it if you put enough effort and you have good people around you,” Swiatek reflected
Once viewed as the undisputed dominant force in women’s tennis, Swiatek had held the No. 1 ranking for most of the past three years. Her legendary 37-match winning streak in 2022 included six titles and ended, rather fittingly, at Wimbledon. She now owns five Grand Slam titles: four at Roland-Garros and one at the U.S. Open. But grass remained her Achilles' heel. Before this fortnight, she had never even reached a final on the surface, and her Wimbledon record was largely unremarkable, a lone quarterfinal appearance and many early exits
Doubts crept in, not only from outside but within. Last year saw her fall short at all four majors and leave the 2024 Olympics, held in Paris, with a bronze after a semifinal defeat. More quietly but perhaps more significantly, she also served a one-month doping suspension for a failed out-of-competition test
Her return to form began on June 12, exactly one month before the Wimbledon final, and just a week after her 26-match French Open winning streak was snapped in the semifinals.
She began her grass court preparation on the island of Mallorca, followed by training in Germany and a run to the final of a WTA tournament there. Although she lost that final and was visibly emotional during the trophy ceremony, it marked a turning point. Two weeks later, she stood victorious on Centre Court, all smiles, clutching a title that had long eluded her. As she wrapped up her final media appearance of the day, Swiatek quipped: “That was a good therapy session.”
