Evolving Swiatek meets resilient Anisimova as Wimbledon set for new champion

LONDON :The Wimbledon women's singles championship will culminate with the grand finale at the All England Club on Saturday with a new name set to be etched onto the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish for the eighth successive year.

Eighth seed Iga Swiatek of Poland will look to win her sixth Grand Slam title and first on the grasscourts of London when she faces 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who is targeting her maiden major crown.

SWIATEK IN LINE TO BECOME ALL-COURT MAESTRO

Swiatek stamped her authority as the queen of clay when she lifted her fourth French Open title in five years in 2024. Her vast trophy cabinet also contains the 2022 U.S. Open trophy.

It has been a barren 13-month run for the 24-year-old, who has had to deal with off-court distractions after a short doping ban late last year following her positive test for trimetazidine due to contaminated sleep medication.

While the 24-year-old has never previously had too much love for grass, with the slick surface posing a litany of challenges for the Pole, Wimbledon has offered her a golden opportunity to return to winning ways and confirm herself as an all-court ace.

"I never thought it was going to be possible," said Swiatek, who will attempt to become the youngest woman since 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam singles titles on all three surfaces.

"I'm not this kind of person that sets these kinds of goals. I live tournament-by-tournament. It's not like I wake up and I'm like, 'OK, I'm going to win three Grand Slams this year' because that's not how I work.

"I have more down-to-earth goals, practising day-by-day. This is what has always been working."

Swiatek's approach has helped her fly under the radar over the past fortnight, with only one set