Iga Swiatek ‘can win Wimbledon multiple times’ claims former No.1
Iga Swiatek has been backed to win Wimbledon ‘multiple times’ by former No.1 Mats Wilander, despite the Pole admitting to feeling ‘uncomfortable’ on the grass.
Swiatek began her grass court season on Monday at the WTA 250 event in Bad Homburg with a comeback victory over 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria, 5-7 6-2 6-0.
The No.1 is yet to surpass the fourth round at SW19, and while Wilander acknowledged that grass did not come naturally to Swiatek suggested that she will improve with time.
“She is most probably feeling very similar to a lot of ‘us’ that went to Wimbledon that were seeded amongst sort of the first two or three or four. And on paper, we feel that, hey, ‘I should have a chance’,” said Wilander, who won every major tournament except Wimbledon.
He continued, “But not every year did I go in thinking I have a chance to win Wimbledon. But there were a few years when I thought, ‘oh, I’m one of the three or four favourites’. And I think Iga is most probably past that feeling where ‘I hope and I wish that I’m going to be a great grass court player, that I feel comfortable playing on this surface’.”
“And I think she’s already found out that, no, she’s not going to feel comfortable playing on a grass court. She’s going to learn how to play better on it. Is she ever going to be a better grass court player than a clay court player? No. Is she going to be a better grass court player than a hard court player? Most probably not. That doesn’t mean she can’t win the tournament.”
Swiatek is already a four-time major winner at the age of 22, with three of those titles coming on the clay of Roland Garros, and Wilander claims that she will add a ‘dream’ Wimbledon title to her collection.
“So, I think for her, the dream might not be there where ‘I might win six or seven Wimbledons’, but she knows that the dream is alive,” claimed Wilander.
“But she needs to keep developing her game and she needs to realise that you’re never going to feel perfect on a grass court, not with her game.”
The seven-time major winner added, “No one really does unless you hit aces and hit winners because you’re slipping and sliding. So Iga is a threat. She can win Wimbledon multiple times. I think this would be a really good year to start telling the world: ‘hey, I’m here I am okay with grass and I think I’m one of the favourites’”.
15 – In victory over Tatjana Maria at Bad Homburg, Iga Swiatek secured a 15th 6-0 set in 2023. The last player to claim 15+ 6-0 sets in consecutive calendar years at WTA events was Martina Hingis in 2000 and 2001. Dominance.#BadHomburgOpen | @badhomburgopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/kaxcRLQ3rH
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 27, 2023
Swiatek will be the No.1 seed when the Wimbledon draw comes out on Friday morning, as she continues her bid for a first grass court title later today against Jil Teichmann in Bad Homburg.
Iga Swiatek and her record on grass
Despite many talking about Swiatek’s woes on grass, her only junior major title came at Wimbledon back in 2018. However, she has not managed to recreate that in the senior game.
Here is the Pole’s record on the natural surface since joining the WTA tour:
Iga Swiatek’s main draw win-loss record on grass: 7-5 (58%)
Birmingham 2019 – Lost in the first round to Jelena Ostapenko
Wimbledon 2019 – Lost in the first round to Viktorija Golubic
Eastbourne 2021 – Lost in the second round to Daria Kasatkina
Wimbledon 2021 – Lost in the fourth round to Ons Jabeur
Wimbledon 2022 – Lost in the third round to Alize Cornet
Bad Homburg 2023 – Currently in the second round
Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB
Social >> Facebook, Twitter & YouTube
Read >> World’s best tennis magazine
Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner
