Iga Świątek ma wciąż dużą lukę w swoim CV na Wimbledonie

The top player in women’s tennis, and potentially on the path to becoming one of the best ever, Iga Swiatek still has a major hole in her résumé at Wimbledon. Much like her idol, Nadal, Swiatek has established dominance on clay with four French Open titles by age 23.

She’s also got a US Open title and enough other big tournament wins on hard court to make her the top threat on that surface as well.

But grass is a different story, where last year’s quarterfinal was her first decent result. Part of the issue is that Swiatek doesn’t have enough reps dealing with the quirks of playing on an unfamiliar surface.

It’s understandable. Her year is built around peaking on clay, and she has chosen to take a couple weeks off after the French to recuperate rather go straight to the grass.

But being a complete player means winning on all surfaces, and Swiatek is such a terrific athlete and mover that she should eventually play well at Wimbledon. Maybe this is the year, but the draw didn’t do her any favors. Swiatek will have to come out in Round 1 against Sofia Kenin, the 25-year old American who won the 2020 Australian Open and upset Coco Gauff at Wimbledon last year.