Two bagels, 57 minutes and history: Iga Swiatek conquers Wimbledon to show she belongs at the top

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New Delhi: A bagel in a Grand Slam final is the rarest of rare, a double bagel rarer. Only thrice in tennis history has a major women’s final seen a player win it without dropping a single game. In the open era, Steffi Graf was the only woman to have done the unthinkable till Saturday. Graf beat Natalia Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in the French Open final of 1988.

Iga Swiatek joined her in the exclusive club, becoming the second woman to achieve the rare feat. The eighth seed won the Wimbledon 2025 women’s singles title with a double-bagel victory against American Amanda Anisimova in the final. Swiatek clinched her maiden grass major while scripting history by becoming the first Polish woman to win the Wimbledon title.

But the final was nothing Swiatek would have expected even in her wildest dreams. Coming off a victory against title favourite Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final, many believed Anisimova might prevail over Swiatek, who, despite having a big-match pedigree, more experience and five Grand Slams behind her back, never inspired enough confidence when it came to conquering grass.

But conquer she did as Swiatek proved why she is one of the best in the world at present. She annihilated Anisimova in the final on her way to lifting her first Wimbledon title at the Centre Court. It felt like Swiatek could have done little wrong against her American opponent, who almost froze on the big occasion of her maiden Grand Slam final.

Anisimova did little to trouble the Polish star, let alone produce a challenge as Swiatek wrapped up a 6-0, 6-0 win in straight sets inside just 57 minutes, in what was one of the shortest women’s singles finals in the tournament’s history. Swiatek became the first woman since Dorothea Chambers in 1911 to win a Wimbledon women’s singles final without losing a single game.

History for Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek not only completed a long-standing dream by lifting her maiden Wimbledon title but also scripted history by becoming the first woman from Poland to win the tournament. No Polish player has ever managed to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon.

“I didn’t even dream, for me it was way too far,” were Siwatek’s words when asked how she felt after winning her first Wimbledon title. A clear indication of what must have been going on in her head when she walked out onto the centre court for the final on Saturday.

Winning five Grand Slams is no mean feat, but for a player of Swiatek’s calibre, it was not good enough that she had been reduced to the title of ‘clay queen’, while nobody gave her a chance on grass, or even hard courts. Four of Swiatek’s five Grand Slam victories have come at the French Open, highlighting her dominance on clay.

But to be counted among the best, she knew she would have to win it all. Swiatek has now won every Grand Slam except the Australian Open and will be hoping to do a Career Grand Slam next year.

Swiatek, who had not enjoyed a great season in 2025, entered Wimbledon 2025 on the back of a loss to Jessica Pegula in the Bad Homburg Open final, squandering a chance to win her maiden grass-court title. But the eighth-ranked Polish dominated her way to the final at the All England Club. She dropped only one set and didn’t lose a single game in her last three sets on her way to winning the Wimbledon 2025 title.

Swiatek, who had never made it past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, lost 35 matches in the tournament before lifting her first title, keeping her unbeaten record in Grand Slam finals intact. Her Wimbledon victory marks her first Grand Slam triumph outside of Roland Garros since her US Open victory in 2022, and her first since her French Open victory last year.

Swiatek now has six Grand Slams to her name and will be hoping to add a seventh at the US Open later this year, extending her lead at the top among active players with the most women’s singles majors.