Still Here, Still Swiatek

By Grant Thompson

The emotion said it all.

When Iga Swiatek secured her first Wimbledon trophy, clinching championship point with a backhand down-the-line winner, she dropped her racquet in relief and fell on her back. The scoreline — a lopsided 6-0, 6-0 win against Amanda Anisimova — did not reflect the weight of the moment. 

After 13 months without a title, Swiatek was back in the winner’s circle, and on the verge of tears.

“Winning Wimbledon is a thing that is going to be with you the rest of your life,” Swiatek told reporters Wednesday in Cincinnati. 

“I let myself be happy a little bit longer, maybe that’s why I wasn’t so sharp in [Montreal],” she added, alluding to her third-round exit in Canada.

Now preparing for the Cincinnati Open, where Swiatek has a first-round bye, the 24-year-old will aim to rediscover the Wimbledon form that carried her to a sixth — and in her words, “happiest” — major title. 

After an intense two weeks at the All England Club, Swiatek unplugged from tennis by spending three and a half days at the Baltic Sea on the Polish coastline.

“I was on a boat, I slept there and everything,” said Swiatek, who posted photos of her jet skiing on Instagram. “I could see the shore and every big city that we have there from the water point of view. My friends were there. It was all super fun and I loved it.”

The past three years in Cincy, Swiatek was the top seed, but this season she arrives seeded third behind Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. While Sabalenka and Gauff surpassed Swiatek in the WTA Rankings, Swiatek dismisses the notion that she was “gone,” despite what some may suggest.

“It happens, it’s sports,” Swiatek said, referring to her title drought pre-Wimbledon. “I think I had some challenges and some tournaments where I played really well, but still lost in the semis or usually to the winner. 

“I wasn’t gone, I was there.”

Swiatek will aim to be there — lifting the Cincinnati trophy for the first time this fortnight.