(In Pictures) Iga Swiatek Urges Ball Kids to Grab More Towels After Reaching the Wimbledon Semifinals

Along with bidding for her sixth Grand Slam title, Iga swiatek is also looking to build on her Championships' towel collection, as she reaches her maiden Wimbledon semifinal.

(In Pictures) Iga Swiatek Urges Ball Kids to Grab More Towels After Reaching the Wimbledon Semifinals

Iga Swiatek asked the ball kids to grab more towels (images via Wimbledon)

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Iga Swiatek is carrying Wimbledon this season with her newfound form on grass, her love for the Championships’ towels, and by introducing everyone to a unique Polish delicacy of strawberry and pasta. The 24-year-old has spoken about her love for the towels before and has been seen stuffing a bunch of them in her bag.

After her quarterfinal clash against Liudmila Samsonova, she asked a ball kid to pass her some towels, which she could once again be seen stuffing in her bag as she turned to the camera and gave a silencing gesture. Her off-court interviews and gestures and her on-court performance have left everyone entertained!

The Wimbledon towels are manufactured by Christy, a subsidiary of Welspun India Ltd. The company has a long-standing relationship with Wimbledon, producing the towels used by players since 1987.

Meanwhile, strawberries and pasta has overtaken strawberries and cream for the buzz this year at the Championships. It has everyone talking about it, from the commentators to the Embassies of Poland and Italy in the US. This Polish cuisine is prepared by pouring a strawberry and cream sauce over cooked pasta and is often considered to be a nostalgic dish associated with childhood.

How has Iga Swiatek improved on grass this year?

The grass is greener on Iga Swiatek‘s side this year. Albeit historically being her weakest surface on the WTA tour, the grass court was the very surface where the Pole broke her semifinal curse, reaching her first final in a year.

This took place ahead of the Championships at the Bad Homburg Open, where Swiatek also reached her maiden grass court final. Now the five-time Grand Slam champion is into her maiden Wimbledon semifinal. What is most impressive about Swiatek’s Wimbledon campaign is her first serve. At 77.4%, Swiatek is the player with the highest percentage of first serve points won in the women’s tournament.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Cycling on TNT Sports)

She overcame 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinal on Wednesday. Although Swiatek secured the first set comfortably, her opponent gave her some trouble in the second.

Despite Swiatek having a 3-0 lead in the second set, her opponent fought back to level the score to 4-4 and shortly to 5-5 with Swiatek trailing at 0-30. The Pole, however, remained calm in these situations and found her forehand again, firing a return winner on her second match point to seal the victory with a scoreline of 6-2, 7-5.

Her calm composure has given her a strong edge, coupled with her improvement in slide, her confidence after winning many matches on the surface this season, and her careful and versatile shot selection.

Iga Swiatek will face Belinda Bencic in her maiden Wimbledon semifinal

Iga Swiatek has now reached the semifinals or better of all Grand Slams, becoming the fourth active female player to do so after Victoria Azarenka, Karolina Pliskova, and Aryna Sabalenka. Swiatek is the first Pole in the Open Era to achieve this feat. She is also the first Polish woman to reach a Wimbledon semifinal since Agnieszka Radwanska played the final in 2012.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (via Wimbledon)

In her next round at SW19, the eighth seed will face Belinda Bencic, who is also a first-time semifinalist. The 28-year-old outclassed seventh seed Mirra Andreeva in straight sets at the quarterfinal. Bencic is a four-time grass court finalist with one title on the surface.

Swiatek leads the head-to-head 3-1 against the Swiss, with their last meeting taking place at Wimbledon in 2023, where the Pole defeated Bencic in a tightly contested three-set match. If there are no more upsets in the semifinal, it would mark the first Grand Slam final between Swiatek and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Also Read: Clara Tauson Describes What It Felt like Playing Against Iga Swiatek’s Best Version at Wimbledon