Iga Swiatek Vows Never to Repeat Roger Federer’s Major Wimbledon Mistake

Iga Swiatek double-bageled Amanda Anisimova to end her title drought and win her career's first grass-court title at Wimbledon.

Iga Swiatek Vows Never to Repeat Roger Federer’s Major Wimbledon Mistake

Iga Swiatek, Roger Federer (Image via WTA, Wimbledon)

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Even Roger Federer found himself in an awkward situation due to Wimbledon’s strict rules. Back in 2022, Federer was not playing the tournament as he was rehabilitating after surgery on his knee.

When Federer arrived at Wimbledon (he wanted to have tea as he had a couple of hours to kill), despite being the man with the most titles at SW19 (eight), he was denied entry by a rule-abiding security guard. It was all because he did not have a membership card with him at that moment. All champions are given honorary membership to the All England Club, allowing them to enter Wimbledon at any time.

Federer tried his best to explain his achievements, but to no avail. But thankfully, he was recognized by other security guards and was finally let in. Iga Swiatek, who became a member of the All England Club this year after her double-bagel triumph over Amanda Anisimova, vows never to repeat Federer’s mistake.

I wonder how it feels. I will be back for sure. I would love to. I have no idea how that works, though. I heard once Roger wasn’t let in when he didn’t have a proper badge or something, so I would need to get ready.

Iga Swiatek told The Guardian

Federer won his last title at Wimbledon in 2017 and played one more final, in 2019, losing the tight match to Novak Djokovic, a now seven-time champion in the grass-court Major. In 2022, Federer played just one tournament- the Laver Cup, also his career’s final event. His and his doubles partner Rafael Nadal‘s defeat to Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe closed one of the most remarkable chapters.

Iga Swiatek recalls her Wimbledon win over Amanda Anisimova

Amanda Anisimova simply froze when she was clashing with Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final. Swiatek’s situation was not different as well, as she said during that interview with The Guardian how she wanted to win that match badly but was also aware of the ‘crazy’ things that were happening. She was winning games one after the other, before ending the final with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline.

Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova
Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova (Image via X/On, WTA)

I remember all these interviews about the score, journalists asking questions if I should let Amanda win one game or something like that. It was pretty different. I can only say that this tournament shows tennis is [such a] mental sport. This part of the game has a huge impact on everything and on the results of each player. I’m really happy I handled the pressure well, because after the final, everybody was talking about Amanda being stressed or something, but I was also stressed as hell; playing the final of Wimbledon on Centre Court is a surreal experience.

For Swiatek, it was her first title of the season, as well as her first since her fourth Roland Garros victory last year. Prior to Wimbledon, the Pole played her career’s first grass-court final at the Bad Homburg Open but failed to go past America’s Jessica Pegula.

Swiatek then took home two more titles. She clinched the Cincinnati Open against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, then added the Korea Open to her name. Because she failed to defend five titles earlier this year, the six-time Grand Slam champion even dropped to the eighth spot on the rankings table.

As she regained her form, Swiatek found herself climbing on the rankings table, finishing the season as World No.2. She even had a chance to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka and claim her top position. At the WTA Finals, the 2023 champion failed to reach the semifinals after defeats to Anisimova and eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the round-robin stage.

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