Iga Świątek is the first Polish Wimbledon champion. She didn't let her rival dream.

The final was a match between players with different strengths, and theoretically, Anisimova's strengths—she attacks her returns early, hits hard, and flies the ball flatter—are better suited to the grass. Świątek needs more time to adjust her racket for her extreme topspin forehand, her most dangerous weapon. None of that mattered on Saturday, however.

Anisimova won nine points in the first set, and Świątek brutally dashed her dreams. The match threatened to last longer than the pre-match luncheon for the royal box guests. The American improved in the second set, but still couldn't connect with the Pole. She had no idea how to engage. Świątek was in control, not needing to look for a plan B. Anisimova played the final game with tears in her eyes.

She had previously traveled a long road to the final. The daughter of Konstantin and Olga, banking workers who left Moscow for the United States in 1998, she quickly earned the label of American tennis prodigy. As a teenager, she reached the semifinals of Roland Garros (2019), but soon—when her father, who also happened to be her coach, died of a heart attack—the young tennis player's world was reduced to ashes.

She took a short break, first trying to cope with her grief on the court. She experienced highs, comparable to reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon (2022), but soon became a shadow of her former self on the court. Tennis was too much, and she felt burned out. Finally, she announced she was taking an indefinite leave of absence from the sport to take care of her mental health.

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