Swiatek survives a Townsend scare and a 21-minute game to begin her title defence
Iga Swiatek beat Taylor Townsend 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the first round of Wimbledon 2026, surviving a 21-minute opening game in the third set in which she saved four break points.
Iga Swiatek, Wimbledon 2026 | © Mark Greenword / PsNewz
Defending champion Iga Swiatek came through a far sterner test than she would have wanted on Tuesday, recovering from a second-set stumble to beat American Taylor Townsend 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 and extend her Wimbledon winning streak to eight matches.
The Polish third seed had looked imperious in the opening set, racing through it for the loss of a single game, but Townsend turned the match on its head in the second. Playing smart, varied grass-court tennis, the American drew Swiatek into errors – the defending champion struck four winners against 16 unforced errors in that set – and levelled the contest by taking it 6-2.
The third set turned on an extraordinary opening game that lasted 21 minutes and 24 points, in which Swiatek saved four break points before finally holding. It was the pivot of the match; from there she steadied and pulled clear to win.
Swiatek was open afterwards about how much the win had taken, and how much it meant. “It was long, with many break points, but I believed I could do it,” she said. “I’m happy I kept my composure. I was listening to my box and they were pushing me a lot. I knew I needed to be solid and not look for winners.”
Swiatek : “Moments you feel you’ve done the job”
She framed the contest as the kind of examination a returning player needs. “It’s not hard when everything goes your way and you’re so confident that everything goes in. When there are some dents, that’s the time to check how much you can do to change things around – these are the moments where you feel you’ve done the job.”
Swiatek will face Karolina Pliskova next, with a potential third-round meeting against Serena Williams or Alexandra Eala looming further down her quarter.
