Wimbledon has turned into the Grand Slam where the women's side seems set on not having any repeat winners, while the men's side might have the same winner for most of the next decade. Does that make one side worth watching more than the other? Maybe.
The great part about the Iga Swiatek versus Amanda Anisimova final on Saturday is that we were going to see another first-time winner, but both players would have deserved the victory. Each is capable of winning the grass-court major again in 2026 and beyond, too, but this being Wimbledon, they might never reach another final.
To begin the match, Anisimova was obviously nervous. Through the first two games, including the opening game in which she was broken, she committed five unforced errors. Unless things changed and quickly for the American, Swiatek was going to be up a set in about 25 minutes and have total control of the match.
Wimbledon final between Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova got ugly fast
Trailing 0-2, Anisimova had a game point, but kept making unforced errors. The same was the case down 0-4, and Anisimova was broken at love. Swiatek was dominating the match in a way that few have in a Wimbledon final.
She was striking the ball and keeping constant pressure on the American, and Anisimova had no escape. Winning a single point felt like a massive victory. Swiatek took the set 6-0 in 25 minutes. The American had three winners but 13 unforced errors. The Pole finished with only two winners and two unforced errors as Anisimova's poor play was doing most of the work for Swiatek.
Anisimova served to begin the second set and struck the ball better, but was still plagued by errors. She was broken, and any little hope she had of making a comeback seemed gone.
The question eventually became not whether Swiatek would win the Wimbledon title, but if Anisimova would win a game. The games in the second set were tighter than the first set, but the American kept doing things to lose games. Swiatek, meanwhile, kept playing as if she was trying to win a third set tie-break, and likely never having played better.
The answer to whether Anisimova would win a game in the match was a sad one for the American. Swiatek won 6-0 6-0, the first time in a Wimbledon women's final that a player had won every game. Anisimova finished with eight winners but 27 unforced errors, while Swiatek was eight and nine, respectively.
The Grand Slam victory was Iga Swiatek's sixth after she had previously won four French Opens and one US Open. 10th-most in the Open era, which began in 1968. She is still only 24 years old, so she could make a run toward 20 if she continues to play well on grass and hard courts while getting her form back on clay. She will also move up to No. 3 on the WTA when the new rankings are released.