Świątek's Wimbledon whitewash of Anisimova not a barometer for quality of women's tennis

Daily Maverick

3 days ago

The straight-sets win by the Polish superstar Iga Świątek over America's Amanda Anisimova is an outlier, not the norm.
It's a Wimbledon final that has sparked debate, particularly around the issue of equal pay and whether women should also be required to play the best of fives sets at Grand Slams in order for this pay disparity to close.
Polish tennis star Iga Świątek underlined her credentials as the best player of this current generation as she obliterated American Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the women's singles final at Wimbledon.
After Anisimova had shown grit and guile to outmanoeuvre world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals, she was expected to put on a better show in the decider versus Świątek. Especially because Świątek has never shied away from sharing how difficult she finds playing on grass. In fact, the 2025 Wimbledon final was the Pole's first at the world's oldest Grand Slam.
That balances the scales, right? Wrong. This was Świątek's sixth overall Grand Slam final, to Anisimova's one. With her 57-minute victory over Anisimova, Świątek coincidentally took her tally at major finals to a perfect score of 6-0. When Świątek reaches a Grand Slam final she does not lose.
At this point in her career, the 24-year-old Pole is more efficient than Real Madrid in the European Champions League, or Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros. As such, Anisimova was always poised to suffer against Świątek. But no one could have predicted just how one-sided the final would be.
Rare result
Anisimova's mauling by Świątek was only the second time in the Open Era that a women's Grand Slam champion did not lose a single game. The other time this occurred was when Steffi Graff swatted aside Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 at the 1988 French Open. That contest lasted just 34 minutes.
While empathising with her opponent, Świątek was also elated with herself for snapping mental barrier. Throughout her career, the Pole has spoken about her struggles on grass courts, labelling it her least-favourite surface. This is in contrast to clay, where she is at home and has won four of her six Slams.
'Coming here, I could really focus on getting better and developing as a player rather than everybody just asking me to win,' Świątek said. 'I kind of enjoyed that because expectations were a bit lower.'
'For sure, 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,' Świątek told WTA.
'Here, I wasn't sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself. This one and the US Open for sure feel better because no one expected that. It wasn't a relief. It was more of just good tennis and working to make it happen, without this baggage on your shoulders,' she added.
'I'm sorry'
For her part, Anisimova was naturally devastated by the horror display in her maiden major final. The 23-year-old was apologetic towards the spectators who had packed into Centre Court expecting a show similar to the one she had put on when defeating Sabalenka.
Instead Anisimova was overawed by the occasion, making a barrage of unforced errors to make Świątek's job that much easier. During her post-match interview a distraught Anisimova said to the crowd: 'Guys, I'm so sorry.
'Thank you to everyone who has supported me since my first-round match, you guys have carried me through.
'I've had a great fortnight, even though I ran out of gas [in the final]. I wish I could have put on a better performance for all of you, but you guys have still been there and lifted me up.'
Anisimova simply froze on the grandest stage she has ascended to so far in her career. It can happen to anyone, just ask the players of Inter Milan after they were demolished 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 Champions League final.
A former junior tennis prodigy – having won the 2017 Junior US Open and being ranked as high as second in the world – Anisimova is determined to bounce back from this setback. Having quit tennis in 2023, for mental health reasons, the American is not ready to walk away again.
'It's a fork in the road. It's whatever direction you want to go in. I'm going to choose the path of working towards my goals and to try and keep improving. Hopefully I put myself in more positions and opportunities like [at this Wimbledon],' Anisimova said.
Equity talk
Nevertheless, the one-sided Wimbledon final has once again sparked debate about equity in the tennis world. While the winners of Grand Slams receive the same prize money, at general tour competitions there are still pay disparities.
Critics of elite women wanting to earn as much as the men in tennis have zeroed in on the non-contest between Świątek and Anisimova. In addition, such detractors have also argued that women should never earn the same as their counterparts because they only play a maximum of three sets.
However, this argument falls flat because outside of Grand Slams (where pay is equal), the men's tennis players also participate in the best-of-three-sets matches.
In any case, retired French tennis player Marion Bartoli believes the current crop of women's tennis players could play five sets if such a regulation was passed. Bartoli also cautioned against using the rare result seen in the Wimbledon final to assassinate women's tennis.
'That final was special, so I don't think you can take that one example and extrapolate it to say that women should play best-of-five. Usually we see longer finals, like the one at Roland-Garros. It's a discussion the players need to have with the WTA,' Bartoli told CLAY.
'Women are absolutely capable of playing best-of-five sets,' the 2013 Wimbledon champion added.
'Taking that step would require today's players to sit down and really consider whether it's what's best for women's tennis or not. It's not up to us, the former players, to make that decision,' Bartoli said.
Nevertheless, the odds are that Anisimova would have still been pumelled even in a five-set situation. Świątek was just at her destructive best. DM