Wimbledon has proven to be a tough event for Iga Swiatek. Despite everything she’s accomplished in her career, success at Wimbledon has remained elusive. Entering Wednesday, the farthest Swiatek has ever made it at the event was the quarterfinals, a disappointing result for the former women’s No. 1.
But maybe this is Swiatek’s year. The 24-year-old will finally play in her first semifinal at Wimbledon after a victory over Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Swiatek looked to be in top form early during the match, which she won 6-2, 7-5.
Swiatek, the No. 8 women’s player, played a strong overall game, winning points on 70 percent of her first serves. She was strong on break points, converting 63 percent of those opportunities. Her defense was strong as well, as Swiatek registered 24 unforced errors in the match.
Advertisement
Swiatek was aided by some defensive lapses from Samsonova, who picked up 38 unforced errors in the loss. Swiatek also registered 20 winners, putting Samsonova in tough positions all day.
While Samsonova had a tough time in the first set, she settled in and played a much better game in the second set, pushing Swiatek to an extra game. Despite the late surge, Samsonova couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 7-5 in the second and final set.
Following the win, Swiatek said she had goosebumps on the court.
The win puts Swiatek in the semifinal at Wimbledon for the first time in her career. Despite all her success — Swiatek has four French Open wins and one U.S. Open title — Wimbledon remains her toughest Grand Slam. She has just a 69 percent winning percentage at the tournament, her lowest among the four Grand Slams. Prior to 2025, she had just one quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon in her first five tries. She’s typically gone home early at the event.
Advertisement
It will only get harder from here, though Swiatek does have an advantage over the remaining players in the women’s bracket. Of the remaining women at Wimbledon, Swiatek has never played Amanda Anisimova, but she has a winning record against all her other possible opponents. That wasn’t the case with Mirra Andreeva, who holds a 2-1 record vs. Swiatek. But that won’t be an issue after Andreeva was eliminated by Belinda Bencic on Wednesday.
Swiatek’s success extends to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. The pair has played 13 total times, with Swiatek winning eight of them. If Swiatek can continue her run and meet Sabalenka in the final, it could result in a scenario where the women’s No. 1 is actually an underdog at Wimbledon.
Belinda Bencic upsets Mirra Andreeva in quarterfinal
It was a hard-fought match, but Belinda Bencic is advancing to the semifinal at Wimbledon. In an extremely tight match, Bencic upset No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in straight sets (7-6, 7-6) to advance at the tournament.
Advertisement
The veteran Bencic played a generally mistake-free match to pick up the win. While Andreeva led the way in aces and winners, Bencic committed fewer unforced errors and played a strong game at the net to pick up the victory. Bencic had 24 unforced errors compared to Andreeva’s 37. The 28-year-old Bencic also had an 82 percent win rate on points at the net.
With the win, Bencic advances to just the second Grand Slam semifinal in her career. She reached the semifinal at the 2019 U.S. Open, where she fell to Bianca Andreescu. It also marks the farthest Bencic has advanced at Wimbledon. Prior to her 2025 run, Bencic had not advanced past the fourth round at the event in eight tries. She did not play at Wimbledon in 2024 after going on paternity leave. With her win Wednesday, Bencic is the first mother to play in the semifinal at Wimbledon since Elina Svitolina in 2023.
Bencic’s task will get much tougher next round, when she’ll take on Swiatek. The two have played four times, with Swiatek winning three of those matches.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
PSG é favorito ao título do Mundial de Clubes para ‘supercomputador’ da Opta Analyst e vantagem cresce para final
Dembélé em ação contra o Real Madrid (Créditos: David Ramos/Getty Images)O Mundial de Clubes terá uma finalíssima entre Chelsea e PSG no próximo domingo (13), às 16h (de Brasília), no Metlife Stadium, em Nova Jersey. Avassaladores no mata-mata, os dois times brigam pelo título do primeiro torneio de clubes com 32 participantes e uma cota financeira de US$ 40 milhões. Após a classificação dos franceses, a Opta Analyst, empresa de estudo de estatísticas, colocou o atual campeão da Champions League em vantagem. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEDurante a realização do Mundial, o ‘supercomputador’ alternou entre Chelsea e PSG como principais favoritos ao título, e as prospecções acabaram se concretizando. Agora para a decisão, a Opta coloca amplo favoritismo aos franceses, que aparecem com 64,42% de chances de título, enquanto o time de Londres tem 35,58%.Em sua campanha no Mundial, o Paris Saint-Germain só […]
Christian Norgaard to Arsenal: Everything you need to know about the transfer – TLDR
Arsenal have signed Christian Norgaard from Brentford for a fee of £10million ($13m; €11m), plus a further £2m in potential add-ons.The 31-year-old has signed a two-year contract at the Emirates with the option of a third year.As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.Give me their backstory in 100 words… Norgaard had to wait patiently to break through outside his native Denmark. After leaving Lyngby for Hamburg in 2012, he was plagued by ankle issues and left Germany after one season with no first-team appearances. Back in Denmark, he spent five seasons at Brondby — three of them under Thomas Frank — and won the club’s player […]
Yankees’ Brian Cashman vouches for Anthony Volpe. But a closer look shows reason for concern
NEW YORK — Two years ago, Brian Cashman passionately defended the New York Yankees’ player development arm during an hourlong back-and-forth with the media at the 2023 GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. At the heart of his defense was shortstop Anthony Volpe, who won a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season but finished in the bottom 10 of the league offensively.AdvertisementCashman was adamant that Volpe would “crush it offensively” the following season and that his struggles at the plate in 2023 were related to not getting much experience at Triple A, even though the Yankees viewed him as the best option for the major-league shortstop job out of spring training.In 2024, the year Cashman expected a breakout offensively, Volpe posted a worse OPS (.657) than his rookie season (.666). Now in his third season, Volpe once again has an […]
Tigers’ Zach McKinstry is an unlikely, but also well-deserved, All-Star
DETROIT — Nope, he didn’t think this would happen. Not three years ago, when he was buried on the bench with the Dodgers, not back when he was getting cut from the Cubs, not last year when he was clinging to his Tigers roster spot for dear life.Zach McKinstry has always been self-aware. Aware of the fact he was a 33rd-round draft pick out of Central Michigan, which before now had only produced one other MLB All-Star (outfielder Tom Tresh, who represented the Yankees in 1962 and 1963).AdvertisementHe’s aware of the fact he’s now 30, a scrappy super-utility player, the type of guy who can make a roster function but rarely gets the acclaim.But look at the numbers on the scoreboard, and it is difficult to dismiss Zach McKinstry’s case for an All-Star nod. He is hitting .286 with an […]
MLB Draft 2025: Names to know beyond the top 100 prospects
There will be more than 600 players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft. We have ranked the top 100 prospects, but there are many more players who could make an impact at the next level whose names will also be called during the draft. Below are scouting notes on players who aren’t on the top-100 list but could be drafted.(Note: Prospects listed in alphabetical order; this isn’t a ranking. Scouting grades are on a traditional 20-80 scale.)Chris Arroyo, 1B, VirginiaH: 6-2 | W: 225 | B/T: L/L | DOB: 9/17/2004Arroyo started out at Florida in 2023 as a reliever, then went to a JUCO for a year, landing at Virginia this spring and becoming their everyday first baseman while throwing 12 innings out of the bullpen. He hit .291/.361/.519, but there’s probably more power in there than the line indicates; his […]
Nikola Topić, Bronny James and more non-rookies to watch at Las Vegas Summer League
Cooper Flagg is playing!OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’m here to inform you that many other notable players who are not Flagg will take the floor at Las Vegas Summer League, including several who aren’t rookies at all.I know this is a shock to the system, because summer league is usually about rookies. After all, this is the first chance for fans to see how all the lottery picks will look on an NBA floor. By the time a young player’s second and third seasons have rolled around, we know a lot more about them … usually.AdvertisementBut not always. Take Nikola Topić, for instance. He is an NBA champion, and in three months, he’ll play his first regular-season NBA game.The Oklahoma City guard spent his entire rookie season watching from the sidelines while rehabbing a […]
Related
PSG é favorito ao título do Mundial de Clubes para ‘supercomputador’ da Opta Analyst e vantagem cresce para final
Dembélé em ação contra o Real Madrid (Créditos: David Ramos/Getty Images)O Mundial de Clubes terá uma finalíssima entre Chelsea e PSG no próximo domingo (13), às 16h (de Brasília), no Metlife Stadium, em Nova Jersey. Avassaladores no mata-mata, os dois times brigam pelo título do primeiro torneio de clubes com 32 participantes e uma cota financeira de US$ 40 milhões. Após a classificação dos franceses, a Opta Analyst, empresa de estudo de estatísticas, colocou o atual campeão da Champions League em vantagem. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADEDurante a realização do Mundial, o ‘supercomputador’ alternou entre Chelsea e PSG como principais favoritos ao título, e as prospecções acabaram se concretizando. Agora para a decisão, a Opta coloca amplo favoritismo aos franceses, que aparecem com 64,42% de chances de título, enquanto o time de Londres tem 35,58%.Em sua campanha no Mundial, o Paris Saint-Germain só […]
Christian Norgaard to Arsenal: Everything you need to know about the transfer – TLDR
Arsenal have signed Christian Norgaard from Brentford for a fee of £10million ($13m; €11m), plus a further £2m in potential add-ons.The 31-year-old has signed a two-year contract at the Emirates with the option of a third year.As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.Give me their backstory in 100 words… Norgaard had to wait patiently to break through outside his native Denmark. After leaving Lyngby for Hamburg in 2012, he was plagued by ankle issues and left Germany after one season with no first-team appearances. Back in Denmark, he spent five seasons at Brondby — three of them under Thomas Frank — and won the club’s player […]
Yankees’ Brian Cashman vouches for Anthony Volpe. But a closer look shows reason for concern
NEW YORK — Two years ago, Brian Cashman passionately defended the New York Yankees’ player development arm during an hourlong back-and-forth with the media at the 2023 GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. At the heart of his defense was shortstop Anthony Volpe, who won a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season but finished in the bottom 10 of the league offensively.AdvertisementCashman was adamant that Volpe would “crush it offensively” the following season and that his struggles at the plate in 2023 were related to not getting much experience at Triple A, even though the Yankees viewed him as the best option for the major-league shortstop job out of spring training.In 2024, the year Cashman expected a breakout offensively, Volpe posted a worse OPS (.657) than his rookie season (.666). Now in his third season, Volpe once again has an […]
Tigers’ Zach McKinstry is an unlikely, but also well-deserved, All-Star
DETROIT — Nope, he didn’t think this would happen. Not three years ago, when he was buried on the bench with the Dodgers, not back when he was getting cut from the Cubs, not last year when he was clinging to his Tigers roster spot for dear life.Zach McKinstry has always been self-aware. Aware of the fact he was a 33rd-round draft pick out of Central Michigan, which before now had only produced one other MLB All-Star (outfielder Tom Tresh, who represented the Yankees in 1962 and 1963).AdvertisementHe’s aware of the fact he’s now 30, a scrappy super-utility player, the type of guy who can make a roster function but rarely gets the acclaim.But look at the numbers on the scoreboard, and it is difficult to dismiss Zach McKinstry’s case for an All-Star nod. He is hitting .286 with an […]
Nikola Topić, Bronny James and more non-rookies to watch at Las Vegas Summer League
Cooper Flagg is playing!OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’m here to inform you that many other notable players who are not Flagg will take the floor at Las Vegas Summer League, including several who aren’t rookies at all.I know this is a shock to the system, because summer league is usually about rookies. After all, this is the first chance for fans to see how all the lottery picks will look on an NBA floor. By the time a young player’s second and third seasons have rolled around, we know a lot more about them … usually.AdvertisementBut not always. Take Nikola Topić, for instance. He is an NBA champion, and in three months, he’ll play his first regular-season NBA game.The Oklahoma City guard spent his entire rookie season watching from the sidelines while rehabbing a […]
MLB Draft 2025: Names to know beyond the top 100 prospects
There will be more than 600 players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft. We have ranked the top 100 prospects, but there are many more players who could make an impact at the next level whose names will also be called during the draft. Below are scouting notes on players who aren’t on the top-100 list but could be drafted.(Note: Prospects listed in alphabetical order; this isn’t a ranking. Scouting grades are on a traditional 20-80 scale.)Chris Arroyo, 1B, VirginiaH: 6-2 | W: 225 | B/T: L/L | DOB: 9/17/2004Arroyo started out at Florida in 2023 as a reliever, then went to a JUCO for a year, landing at Virginia this spring and becoming their everyday first baseman while throwing 12 innings out of the bullpen. He hit .291/.361/.519, but there’s probably more power in there than the line indicates; his […]
Be the first to leave a comment