Swiatek storms past Bencic, sets up summit clash with Anisimova

Iga Świątek cruised into the Wimbledon 2025 final, defeating Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0. She will face Amanda Anisimova, who shocked Aryna Sabalenka, ensuring a new ladies' champion at Wimbledon

London: Former World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland reached new heights in the best grass-court season of her career by storming into the women’s singles final of Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Club here on Thursday.

The No. 8 seed Swiatek breezed past 35th-ranked Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-0 in a semifinal clash on Centre Court on Thursday. In a clash between two first-time Wimbledon semifinalists, Swiatek needed just 1 hour and 12 minutes to triumph.

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She will be meeting Amanda Anisimova of the USA in Saturday’s final. Anisimova defeated No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 37 minutes in the first semifinal. This ensured that Wimbledon 2025 will have a new ladies champion as both players have reached this stage at the grass court major for the first time.

Swiatek has not won a Grand Slam title since 2024 Roland Garros over a year ago, but she is now a victory away from returning to the winner’s circle here on the grass of Wimbledon — her least successful Grand Slam before this year.

The five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek is suddenly posting outstanding results on grass courts this season. She made her first final on this surface at Bad Homburg in Germany two weeks ago, and is now in her second successive final on the surface.

Despite her previous misgivings on grass at tour level, Swiatek will be bullish about her chances in the Grand Slam final on any surface. She is a perfect 5-0 in Grand Slam singles finals — leading to four titles at Roland Garros (2020, 2022-24) and one at the 2022 US Open.

Swiatek has never faced No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States at the senior level and will now be clashing for the ladies’ singles title on Saturday. They met once as juniors in 2016, and Anisimova won.

Earlier in the day, Anisimova secured her sixth career Top-5 win, and first over a reigning World No. 1. Four of those Top 5 wins have come over Sabalenka, against whom she now holds a 6-3 head-to-head record with wins on every surface. Anisimova now has a 12-2 record on grass this year, having reached the Queen’s final four weeks ago and followed it by making the Berlin quarterfinals.

The 23-year-old American and Swiatek on Thursday became the first two players born in the 21st century to reach the Wimbledon final. Anisimova is the seventh player born in the 21st century to reach any major final, following Bianca Andreescu, Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Leylah Fernandez, Coco Gauff, and Zheng Qinwen.