Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek will clash in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon, which will get its eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion.

Commenting on it, former American tennis player Chris Evert said it is difficult to feel completely secure and confident on this elusive surface. Explaining the trend, she said, “There’s so much of talent in the game, deeper now than ever,” said Evert, a Hall of Famer who won three of her 18 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in the 1970s and 1980s and was the runner-up six times in an era when Martina Navratilova won a record nine singles championships in the grass-court tournament.

With no woman tennis heavyweight around since Serena Williams’ retirement after the 2022 US Open, there is more scope for new faces like 13th-seeded Anisimova, a 23-year-old American who will be contesting her first major final against Swiatek, a former No. 1 who won four titles at the French Open and one at the US Open, but has gone past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time.

“I never even dreamt that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final,” said Swiatek, a 24-year-old Polish sensation. “I thought I experienced everything on the court. But I didn’t experience playing well on grass,” said Swiatek, who cruised into the final with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over unseeded Belinda Bencic in the semifinals. “Maybe I would have had to play my absolutely best tennis of my life and risk every shot to beat her today, the way she played,” Bencic said.

Much like Swiatek, Anisimova was also a recent runner-up on this surface, reaching the final at Queen’s Club last month. Her powerful, flat strokes helped her achieve a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory against No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. “I have to say,” Sabalenka said, “that she was more brave.” A sign of Anisimova’s expertise on grass came three years ago when she reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

“A lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game. That was a little hard to digest because I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day. I am pleased to be able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself,” said Anisimova.

Siniakova, Verbeek win mixed-doubles title

Katerina Siniakova and Sem Verbeek won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon by defeating Luisa Stefani and Joe Salisbury 7-6(3) 7-6(3). Siniakova, a 10-time Grand Slam women’s doubles champion from the Czech Republic, hit a smash on the first match point.

Siniakova is also a two-time Olympic champion. She won gold in mixed doubles with Tomas Machac at the Paris Games last year. She teamed with Barbora Krejcikova to win the women’s doubles gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Of Siniakova’s 10 major women’s doubles titles, seven were with Krejcikova, two with Taylor Townsend and one with Coco Gauff at last year’s French Open.