Poland’s Iga Swiatek ruthlessly took advantage of American opponent Amanda Anisimova’s nerves to win her maiden Wimbledon title, with the 6-0 6-0 victory taking just 57 minutes.
Swiatek, 24, was also playing in her first final at the All England Club but looked more assured from the very start.
No woman had won a Wimbledon with a double bagel – the name given to a victory without dropping a game – since 1911.
It is the sixth Grand Slam victory of Swiatek’s career, having won on each of her appearances in major finals.
“It seems super surreal,” said Swiatek, whose five previous titles came on clay or hard courts.
“Honestly, I didn’t even dream of winning Wimbledon because it was way too far.
“I feel like I’m an experienced player, having won other Slams, but I didn’t expect this.”
Eighth seed Swiatek drew on all of her greater experience to race through the first set in just 25 minutes.
Anisimova, just three months younger than Swiatek, looked tense from the very start and made a flurry of errors in an opener where she won just nine points.
Despite a sympathetic Centre Court crowd willing her on, things did not improve in the second set for the 13th seed.
A total of 28 unforced errors, plus five double faults, starkly illustrated Anisimova’s struggles.
Fighting back the tears as she addressed the crowd, Anisimova said: “It’s been an incredible fortnight for me – even though I ran out of gas.
“I wish I could have put on a better performance for you today.”
Swiatek becomes an all-court great
If Swiatek had not already proved she should be ranked among the greats of the game, she has certainly done so now.
Mastering a surface considered her weakest – even though she won the Wimbledon junior title in 2018 – has added further credence to her case.
Swiatek has become the youngest woman since 23-time champion Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.
A sixth major takes her clear of Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis, with only a total of 10 women now having won more in the Open era.
Swiatek became known as the ‘Queen of Clay’ after winning four French Open titles in five years, while her two-year reign as the world number one – ended by Aryna Sabalenka last year – was underpinned by consistent success on the hard courts.
Grass was the surface she had not cracked.
Before this triumph, Swiatek had made the second week at the All England Club only once, when she reached the quarter-finals in 2023.
Losing in this year’s Roland Garros semi-finals – early by her previous standards – meant she had longer to prepare on the surface, helping her quickly readjust improve her confidence and game.
Anisimova’s struggles meant she was not fully tested. Nevertheless, the weight and depth of Swiatek’s ball provided constant pressure which her opponent could not deal with.
