Iga Swiatek reaches first Wimbledon semifinal in straight sets - ESPN

Iga Swiatek, four of whose five Grand Slam titles have come on the red clay of the French Open, reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova that went from a stroll to a bit of a struggle in the late stages Wednesday.

The eighth-seeded Swiatek becomes the fourth active women's player to reach the semifinals at all four majors, joining Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova.

Swiatek won all 10 of her first serve points in the opening set and led 3-0 in the second against Samsonova, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Soon, though, it was 4-all in the second set, then 5-all. But Swiatek held for a 6-5 lead, then broke to end it, and a smile spread across her face.

«I already got goosebumps after this win,» Swiatek said in her on-court interview. «I'm super proud of myself.»

Iga Swiatek has drastically improved her play this season on grass, a surface that was traditionally her weakest.

Entering 2025, Swiatek had a career record of 18-8 on grass, reaching only one semifinal (2023 Homburg) and winning about 65% of possible sets.

This year she is 8-1 on grass and has reached two semifinals (Homburg and Wimbledon) — all while winning 18 of 19 sets.

The grass courts of the All England Club always had given her the most trouble as a pro, even though she did claim a junior championship there in 2018. In her five appearances in Wimbledon's women's bracket before this year, she had made it as far as the quarterfinals just once, exiting in that round in 2023.

But the 24-year-old from Poland is enjoying a career-best run on the slick surface, thanks in part to being more comfortable with the footing required. Before the start of