Swiatek v Anisimova: the Wimbledon final no-one expected
Saturday’s Wimbledon women’s final will bring a clash of styles and a lack of pressure for both
Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek, Wimbledon 2025 – © Tennis Majors
Wind back the clock and tune into any number of tennis podcasts, draw breakdowns or analysis shows, and here’s what you won’t find: someone predicting Iga Swiatek v Amanda Anisimova as the Wimbledon women’s final.
All eyes were on the big names like Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva heading into London, or even the American trio of Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.
And yet, just two women remain: one who hasn’t won a title in more than a year and will openly admit her least favourite surface is grass; the other who was ranked outside the world’s top 400 at the start of 2024 and has never made a major final before.
The unexpected nature of this match up is just one of the characteristics that make Saturday’s clash so fascinating.
Styles collide
The Wimbledon women’s final will see an intriguing clash of styles as well.
As was on display in her win over Sabalenka, Anisimova has the kind of raw power that can hit a player off the court. The American even said after the match that her game plan was not to rely on the world No 1 making mistakes: she was going to stick it to her and force the issue.
From big serving to big, hard ground-strokes, Anisimova will look to blast her way through Swiatek and take the bull by the horns on Saturday.
Swiatek, on the other hand, is more deft with her touch. The Pole is a brilliant mover, something that she has significantly improved on grass this season. She plays with more variation, still using plenty of spin on the forehand and mixing in some crafty slice.
Defence is no issue for Swiatek, and while she is no stranger to aggressive tennis either, the 24-year-old will likely need to rely on her guile and tactics rather than firepower to get past Anisimova.
An absence of expectation
What is notable – particularly for Swiatek – is the lack of pressure and expectation surrounding this Wimbledon final.
Swiatek has at times looked crippled by the weight of being world No 1 and needing to win every match. Here on grass, and now no longer at the top of the rankings, she is playing with a rare freedom.
The No 8 seed even admitted herself to being surprised at how far she had come this tournament.
“I never thought it’s going to be possible,” she said. “I’m not going to say I wouldn’t believe because I kind of believe, and I know in tennis a lot can happen, but I don’t know. I guess I would think that I would need to do a lot to be in this place and learn a lot before.”
For Anisimova, she has always had the belief in herself, but is equally surprised at how far she’s made it this event.
“It’s so exciting to be in the final here. I think I still can’t believe it in a way,” she said after her win over Sabalenka.
“For me it’s not like all of my hard work has paid off because I really enjoy it. I feel like with that, results will come. But yeah, you’re just not sure when that will happen. For it to happen here is still a little bit unbelievable to me.”
Swaitek and Anisimova play this Saturday at 4 pm BST.
