Iga Swiatek hopes critics will ‘just leave me alone now’ after Wimbledon glory

Iga Swiatek said she delivered an emphatic response to her critics by capturing her maiden Wimbledon title, with the Pole saying she hoped they would “just leave me alone now” after her dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Amanda Anisimova in 57 minutes. The American said her slam final debut was undone by nerves and a “mediocre serve” that had dogged her fortnight.

The title will propel Swiatek to No 3 in the WTA rankings and signals a major breakthrough in her 2025 season. At the French Open, Swiatek – nicknamed the Queen of Clay – fell in the semi-finals to Aryna Sabalenka, marking the first time she failed to reach the final at Roland Garros since 2021.

“We as athletes can’t really react to everything,” said Swiatek after winning her first title since last year’s French Open. “For the past months, how the media described me – and I have to add, unfortunately, the Polish media – how they treated me and my team, it wasn’t really pleasant.

“I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job because obviously we know what we are doing. I have the best people around me. I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more. But it’s my own process, my own life and my own career. Let me do my job the way I want it.”

With the win, the 24-year-old, who previously held no grass-court titles, secured her 100th grand slam match victory and her sixth major championship, becoming the third player in the Open era, after Margaret Court and Monica Seles, to win all of her first six slam finals.

“Tennis is a mental sport,” she said on her record in finals. “But you need everything to win tournaments. Good tennis, good physicality, great focus.

“I just wanted to enjoy the time I had on Centre Court and enjoy the last hours of me playing well on grass because who knows if it’s going to happen again. I just focused on that and I really had fun.”

Anisimova, who became the first Wimbledon finalist to be double-bagelled since 1911, said she was in shock after the loss. “I was nervous, but it wasn’t anything out of this world,” the 23-year-old said. “If anything, I was more excited to go out there and compete.”

Iga Swiatek lifts the Venus Rosewater Dish on the balcony outside Centre Court. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The American won only 26% of her first-service points and 35% of her second-service points. She struck 28 unforced errors and five double faults. “I don’t really know what was going on with my serve,” she said. “I’ve struggled with my serve, as most people can tell by the statistics.

“I don’t know if it’s when nerves come into play that I struggle with my serve. I don’t know what the root cause is. Me and my team will get to the bottom of it.

“I feel like the last two weeks I’ve had to dig myself out of so many holes because I’ve been struggling so much on my first serve. To honestly make it to the finals of Wimbledon with a mediocre serve … I feel like I’ve been fighting my way through with an average serve.

“I don’t really know what exactly [what was wrong]. It’s just a feeling I had. I knew that was kind of a red flag.”

Despite the merciless victory, Swiatek still gave credit to her opponent for her game, saying: “I want to congratulate Amanda for an amazing two weeks, no matter what happened today. I hope we are going to play many tournaments together and congrats to your team as well.”