Wimbledon has a new champion once again. Has the tournament captured the hearts of millions?
The third Grand Slam tournament has concluded, and the winners in the men's and women's categories have been announced. Now, everyone begins preparing for the hard court season. But let's reflect on how the grass season unfolded, which brought us many stunning upsets. It's not surprising, as grass is played on for literally a month and a half, making it difficult to prepare for this surface. Therefore, surprises happen often. The recent Wimbledon was no exception.
Laura Siegemund Proved That Age Is Just a Number
37 years old, ranked 104th in the world, having won only 2 out of 7 matches at Wimbledon in her entire career. Could anyone have bet on this tennis player? Perhaps even Siegemund herself didn't bet on herself. But the stars aligned so well that the German managed to reach the quarterfinals. This Wimbledon earned Laura a significant amount of money, followers, and ranking points. Now she will definitely not be outside the top hundred in the world rankings and can afford to take a break.
The beautiful story began in the first round when Siegemund defeated Petra Stearns in straight sets. Everyone remembers how the American played three consecutive three-set matches with tie-breaks in Rome. It seemed that Stearns would be able to get past Siegemund, who is 14 years her senior. But the German surprised everyone in the first round and then faced Fernandez from Canada. It seemed that with a Grand Slam finalist, the 37-year-old tennis player would surely struggle. But that wasn't the case – 2:0 and welcome to the third round, dear Laura.
People started talking about Siegemund, she appeared in news and analytical programs. But everyone was saying the same thing – this is the limit, she won't go any further. Her opponent was Keys – Australian Open champion, US Open finalist, who had reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Siegemund, you're certainly impressive, but going further would be impossible. "What?" said Laura. 2:0 in an hour and a half and into the fourth round. The odds for the German's victory were 6, and she made only eleven unforced errors, waved to everyone, and went to prepare for the next match.
Sierra from Argentina no longer seemed like a serious opponent. And so it turned out, Siegemund calmly advanced to the quarterfinals, where a real thriller unfolded. The match against the world number one lasted 2 hours and 56 minutes. Laura was warned about delaying serves, she served into the net, the first serve just wouldn't cooperate. But each time, the German found moments to prevent Sabalenka from scoring points. Siegemund perfectly adapted to her opponent's game, but she didn't have enough for three sets and lost the decisive set.
Sabalenka said it all after the match. Laura Siegemund truly surprised many and deserves a separate feature, but more on that later. Such surprises happen often and bring a lot of emotions.
And What About Sabalenka?
The world number one was the tournament favorite, with the lowest odds for her victory at Wimbledon. And when Gauff, Rybakina, Pegula, Keys, and Paolini were eliminated, the odds became even lower. It seemed that victory was in the bag, just needed to put it in. It's a challenge to reach out and grab that trophy. But it's tough to approach the grass in perfect form, as this stage of the season is just too short.
Sabalenka played the entire tournament in her usual style, faced problems during matches, got nervous, but always stepped up in the final moments and secured the victory. That's how she reached the semifinals. It seems the energy spent in the match against Siegemund never returned to the Belarusian. The semifinal with Amanda Anisimova lasted two and a half hours, and Sabalenka didn't have enough left for the third set.
In any case, Aryna retains her first place in the world rankings and won't lose it for a long time. The hard court season is starting – her favorite surface, so the world number one will only strengthen her lead and might win the US Open for the second time in a row.
About Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova paused her career in May 2023 due to depression. She gained extra weight, faced social media hate, and it became very difficult for the tennis player, forcing her to leave the public eye. Amanda started 2024 ranked 359th in the world, but began gaining momentum. This season, Amanda won her first WTA 1000 title and climbed into the top 15 of the world rankings.
The death of her father, depression, terrible results, career halt. It seemed Anisimova would quit tennis forever. However, she returned even stronger, overcoming all her issues. Displaying a steely character, the tennis player went to Wimbledon, where she reached the final, her first Grand Slam final. Yes, she couldn't defeat Swiatek, but those are still points that allowed her to rise into the top 10 of the world rankings. Anisimova proved to herself first and foremost that nothing can stop her. Wimbledon gave us an amazing story of the true "iron" Amanda.
An Unexpected Champion
For the eighth consecutive year, the women's Wimbledon has a new champion. And this champion is always unexpected, with no one betting on them. Iga Swiatek, who statistically plays the worst on grass, who hadn't reached a final in the past year, and whom many were quick to write off. She becomes the champion.
There's an opinion that she was lucky with her opponents. But in Bad Homburg, Swiatek reached her first grass-court final, her first final in a year overall. Surprisingly, the grass was kind to the Pole. Iga regained her confidence, switched back to "killer" mode. The final in Germany gave her the strength that had long left her.
With this mindset, Swiatek went to London, starting with a confident victory. Throughout the tournament, Iga lost only one set, to American McNally in the second round. After that, it was impossible to stop the Pole. Collins, Tauson, Samsonova, Bencic, and finally Anisimova. Yes, perhaps if she had faced Andreeva in the semifinals or Sabalenka in the final, there might not have been a trophy. But history doesn't like the subjunctive mood; it loves champions who leave a mark. Swiatek won her third Grand Slam tournament, and the only one she hasn't conquered yet is the Australian Open. But everything is still ahead.
Mirra Andreeva Still Nervous
The young tennis prodigy, Mirra Andreeva, continues to win the hearts of millions. The 18-year-old Russian reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, which means a lot to her. She could have advanced to the semifinals but stumbled in the match against Bencic. Nevertheless, this tournament was a valuable lesson for Andreeva. The Russian completely underperformed in the grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon. Her coach was on a break and wasn't with Mirra, but once in London, Conchita Martinez joined her, and her protégé flourished. Andreeva didn't drop a single set, defeating Emma Navarro in the fourth round.
Yes, she fell just short, but this can be attributed to youth and nerves. And she still has quite a lot of the latter. After the match with Navarro, the Russian stated that she was fully focused on the match, not even paying attention to the stands. It seems that some distraction appeared against Bencic. Andreeva has many more training sessions and meetings with a psychologist ahead. However, if she maintains her pace, she will undoubtedly become the world number one.
What's the Outcome?
Wimbledon once again delivered many surprises, which is why we love it. 80 tons of strawberries consumed, just as much cream drunk, incredible heat, unexpected results. When you play on grass for only a month, you have little time to reach your best form. This is where the ability to play tennis, regardless of the surface, comes to the forefront. What awaits us next year? Perhaps a new champion's name, as has been the case for the past eight years.
