New Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek has hit out at the media’s coverage of her this season, saying: “Leave me alone.”
Swiatek swept aside America’s Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in only 57 minutes to win her first Wimbledon title and sixth grand slam in all, cementing her place as the best player of the current generation.
But the Pole has come under scrutiny this season after a dip in form and a slide down the rankings, following the turmoil of her one-month ban from the sport last year.
Swiatek had not won an event for 13 months before triumphing on Centre Court, and her decision to switch coach to Wim Fissette late last year was one that was questioned at the time.
Asked whether she’d answered her critics, Swiatek replied: “Honestly, things that we as public people and as athletes, we can really react to everything, and we’ve got to just focus on ourselves. Sometimes it’s easier to do that, sometimes it’s harder.
“And for sure, the past few months, how the media sometimes described me – and I’ve got to say, unfortunately, Polish media – how they treated me and my team, it wasn’t really pleasant. So I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job, because obviously you can see that we know what we’re doing, and I have the best people around me.
“I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more, but it’s my own process and my own life and my own career. So hopefully I’m gonna have the freedom from them as well to let me do my job.”
Swiatek maintained her unblemished record in grand slam finals, making it six titles and becoming the first Polish player, male or female, to win a Wimbledon singles trophy.
By adding the grass-court title to her four French Open crowns and one US Open trophy she has also now won slams on all the surfaces.
She had never previously been beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and she said: “It’s something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself.
“I think the fact that it’s on grass, for sure it makes it more special, I would say, and more unexpected. So it feels like the emotions are bigger because, at Roland Garros, I know I can play well, and I know I can show it every year. Here, I wasn’t sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself.”
Anisimova’s comeback has been one of the stories of the fortnight, with the former teenage prodigy having stepped away from tennis for eight months in 2023 for mental health reasons.
She came into the final off the back of a semi-final victory over Aryna Sabalenka but from the start appeared paralysed by nerves.
Anisimova’s serve deserted her and there were many more errors than winners off the ground.
The crowd, who had paid more than £300 each per ticket, willed the American to find a foothold in the contest but Swiatek was utterly ruthless.
Another treat for the Pole was receiving the trophy from the Princess of Wales.
“On court she just congratulated (me),” said Swiatek. “She told me some nice stuff about the performance. Later on, I don’t remember really because I was too overwhelmed.
“I didn’t want to do any faux pas. I wanted to behave well. Overall the process of getting the trophy from Her Royal Highness was something surreal. Since I’m a kid, honestly I’m a big fan of the Royal family. It was amazing.”
