PREVIEW Wimbledon 2025 WTA Final: Iga Swiatek strives for more history against a refined Amanda Anisimova

This Saturday marks the 2025 Wimbledon Ladies' Singles final, featuring an unexpected matchup between Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova. The American surprised World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, while the multi-major champion Swiatek rediscovered her best tennis on the grass courts of the All England Club.

These two players, from the same generation, will face each other for the first time in a WTA-level match. Swiatek looks to expand her legend with an impeccable 5-0 record in Grand Slam finals, while Anisimova will aim to surprise once again and achieve her first major glory.

Iga Swiatek is seeking her prize amidst a season that has been unrewarding. The Pole failed to defend five titles, and since winning Roland Garros 2024, she has fallen in as many as seven consecutive semifinals. Perhaps the most painful was in Paris, where she lost a 26-match winning streak and conceded the trophy she had won in four of the previous five editions.

At the start of the tournament, she seemed to be behind Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, but thanks to her consistency in making deep runs, she now has a tremendous opportunity to win her sixth Grand Slam title. Along the way, she defeated several formidable opponents, including Danielle Collins, Clara Tauson (23rd), Liudmila Samsonova (19th), and Belinda Bencic. Grass courts had always been challenging for Swiatek, but she has managed to reach her second consecutive final on grass and will seek her first title on the surface and her first title of the season.

To date, Iga Swiatek has been almost unbeatable in terms of her effectiveness in finals. She has 22 titles and only 5 losses in finals in her career. In terms of big finals, she holds a 10-2 record in WTA 1000s and a notable 5-0 in Grand Slam finals. No other player has won so many major titles without losing a final in history; the closest is Naomi Osaka's 4-0 record in major finals. Only one player has won her first six Grand Slam finals consecutively in the Open Era: Monica Seles (1990-1992), who finished her career with 9 titles in 13 finals.

The Pole was on a streak of 9 consecutive finals won, which was broken two weeks ago at the Bad Homburg Open, where she fell to Jessica Pegula in straight sets. Statistically, perhaps the only argument against her is that she has no titles on grass courts, and in her first final on the surface, she didn't even win a set (only the second time in the 27 finals she has played).

Surprise or not so much? The truth is that Amanda Anisimova has been a deserving finalist of the tournament, amidst a great comeback season that has already secured her entry into the top-10 for the first time in her career. She arrived as the 13th seed and will leave at least at No. 7 (potentially even top-5 if she wins the title). Anisimova debuted with a resounding victory that sent a clear signal: 6-0, 6-0 against Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, marking an impeccable path through the tournament.

Against opponents like Linda Noskova (30th) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, she showed why she is one of the biggest hitters on tour, and the semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka consolidated the great year she has had. After taking a career break at just 22 years old, her return has been a rapid ascent, considering that less than a year ago she wasn't even in the top-100.

In 2024, she had to play in the Wimbledon qualifiers due to her low ranking and exited in the third round, missing out on the main draw. That was a turning point for Anisimova, who began to achieve good results in the following weeks, reaching her first WTA 1000 final at the Canadian Open. Despite the loss, she didn't have to wait long for revenge, as she was crowned champion at the Qatar Open in February of this year, making another leap to the forefront of the WTA Tour.

Anisimova has already reached the Queen's Club final and boasts a 12-2 record in this grass-swing, with more wins than any other player on tour. It will be her first Grand Slam final, and against perhaps the toughest opponent for this type of stage. She has the tennis arguments and has managed to keep a cool head in complicated matches – such as against Noskova or Sabalenka – to maintain focus until the end.