Iga Swiatek had earned the title of being the “Queen of Clay” very early in her career. Winning four Roland Garros events in five years obviously had to give her the stature of an excellent player on the dirt. However, despite achieving such great results on clay she too was a victim of failing one of the great challenges of our sport. The transition from the slow and bouncy clay of Roland Garros to the fast and skiddy grass of Wimbledon.
Swiatek has an interesting relationship with Wimbledon
Swiatek won Roland Garros in the years 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. In each of those years she failed to make an impact at Wimbledon that followed in a month’s time. (Aside from 2020, obviously, when Roland Garros was held late and Wimbledon wasn’t held at all.) Her best result in those years was in 2023, when she made it to the quarterfinals. Apart from that she was getting knocked out in the third and fourth rounds.
Since her win at Roland Garros last year she has seen a dip in form and has fallen to no. 8 in the rankings. Expectations started to go down and she couldn’t make much of an impact that the clay event this year as well. However, she entered the Wimbledon Championships this year with a rejuvenated vigor and form that one had never seen from her on grass. She has looked much more comfortable and relaxed than ever before. Her movement is better she seems to have adjusted well with the slice game and has been serving well whenever needed most.
Swiatek Talks About not Winning Roland Garros This Year
She finds herself in the final of Wimbledon and seems to be getting back to her dominating best. She will be taking Amanda Anisimova in the final and is a hot favorite to taste Grand Slam glory yet again. After her win over Belinda Bencic in the semifinals, she made an interesting comment in the post match press conference about the impact not winning Roland Garros has had on her dream run here at Wimbledon.
“Honestly, I think it’s easier to win here if you haven’t won Roland Garros. Also you have more time to practice. So if I win Roland Garros and come here everybody already puts super high expectations. It’s not kind of logical for me.” She pointed out the fact that her being a Slam champion at Roland Garros brings a sense of inevitability to her fans where they think she should be a clear favorite to win Wimbledon.
She also mentioned that she found some more time to practice and get used to the surface as she didn’t have any post tournament win hangovers this time around. This is Swiatek’s most profitable run here, and she is now just one step away from the elusive silverware.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
