Defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek says she is not putting pressure on herself as she gears up to defend her title, pointing to a well-established pattern of women’s singles winners failing to claim back-to-back crowns at the All England Club.
Over the past 10 editions of the tournament, nine different players have walked away with the women’s title — a trend that has not escaped the notice of the six-time Grand Slam champion.
“For sure it’s a tournament that creates maybe different challenges when you come back as the defending champion because of the whole thing that is happening around it,” Swiatek told reporters on Saturday. “I think there were players that won this tournament that already have won many tournaments and Grand Slams. Why particularly it’s hard to repeat that, I have no idea.”
The Polish player won last year’s Wimbledon title in dominant fashion, defeating American Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the final. But this season has been a different story, marked by a string of early exits and inconsistent performances.
Swiatek reached only the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Qatar, and Indian Wells, before suffering a shocking second-round defeat to fellow Polish player Magda Linette in Miami. That loss led to a coaching change, with Swiatek parting ways with Wim Fissette and bringing in Francisco Roig.
Her most painful result came at Roland Garros, where the four-time champion was eliminated in the fourth round by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk — a result few saw coming.
Her grass-court tune-up events did little to inspire confidence either, as she fell to Emma Navarro in the last 16 at Bad Homburg despite being the top seed heading into that event.
“I feel like I’m starting from a totally different position and I’m really in a place that I’m keeping my expectations low,” the 25-year-old said. “Even though everybody is talking about this (being the defending champion), I feel like I need to play matches and I need to adjust. It’s not going to be smooth because of last year.”
Seeded third this year, Swiatek opens her Wimbledon campaign against American Taylor Townsend on Tuesday, and she says her goal is simply to find her footing early and build from there.
“When I watch myself from last year, I remember that I was just so focused on the goal, didn’t have many doubts,” she said. “At the beginning of the tournament, obviously you don’t know what your level is. You need to figure it out in the early matches. I could progress match by match.”
Wimbledon runs from June 29 to July 12.
