(VIDEO) Iga Swiatek bursts into tears after tough Wimbledon title defence opener against Taylor Townsend

Tuesday, 30 June 2026 at 18:34

Reigning champion Iga Swiatek began her Wimbledon title defence but it wasn't exactly easy for her as she survived a huge scare against Taylor Townsend and the toll it took saw her cry on her bench after winning the match.

The Pole had not even dropped a set in an opening match at a Grand Slam tournament in six years, but she found herself on the verge of defeat in facing Taylor Townsend on Centre Court.

After racing through the opener, Townsend took the second to force a decider while the errors started to pile up for the 2025 champion. Swiatek was broken when 4-2 up in the final set, but she recovered tow in 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 and then burst into tears at her bench.

Last time she was at Wimbledon, she thrashed Amanda Anisimova, who herself managed to win through pretty easily, winning 6-0, 6-0 in last year's final. The first double bagel in a Wimbledon women's final since 1911.

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As is tradition, she opened the Tuesday and she won six games in a row to take the first set 6-1 in around half an hour hitting just four unforced errors to 11 from Townsend.

But momentum flipped as the American stormed into a 4-0 lead as the defending champion was suddenly all at sea. The third seed went from minimal unforced errors to 16 in the second and left the court as a result ahead of the decider.

An emotional Iga Swiatek after battling through a tough first-round test at Wimbledon 🥺 pic.twitter.com/aS8uEqIIKr
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 30, 2026

She managed to get through but as was alluded to it did take its toll. “I’m not sure if I’m able to talk that much. But no, just, it was a tough couple of weeks and… Not a season where everything went how I wanted,” the former world No. 1 told the Centre Court crowd afterwards about why she was crying.

“I don’t think I won any, like, three-set match this year, so I’m happy that I could do it here. Obviously it means a lot opening the court as defending champion. I’m just happy to be here.”

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

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