Iga Swiatek's Smooth Adaptation Leads to Her First Wimbledon Semifinal

LONDON, WEDNESDAY — Polish female tennis player, Iga Swiatek, reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time thanks to a smooth adaptation to the grass courts. Swiatek will face Swiss player, Belinda Bencic, who is also making her first appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals in their inaugural meeting in the semifinals of any tournament.

Iga Swiatek advanced to the semifinals after securing a victory of 6-2, 7-5 against the 19th seed, Liudmila Samsonova, at the All England Club, London, England, on Wednesday (9/7/2025). Although it was only two sets, Swiatek's victory in the match, which lasted 1 hour and 49 minutes, cannot be described as easy.

Swiatek initially led by one set and 3-0 in the second set against Samsonova, who was making her debut in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. However, shortly thereafter, the score changed to 4-4, then 5-5 following several inconsistent serves from Swiatek.

However, Swiatek seems to be at the peak of her performance at the right time. The former world number one demonstrated her quality by breaking her opponent's serve at a score of 6-5 to conclude the match with a victory.

"Although I am in the midst of the tournament, I am already thrilled after this victory. I am very happy and very proud of myself," said Swiatek.

Swiatek is a five-time Grand Slam champion, with four of those titles won on the clay courts of the French Open and one on the hard courts of the US Open. She has also reached the semifinals twice on the hard courts of the Australian Open.

The grass court of the All England Club has always posed the greatest challenge for Swiatek as a professional tennis player. Although she won the junior category title in 2018, she has struggled to achieve the same success at the higher level.

In her five appearances at the women's Wimbledon prior to this year, Swiatek's best achievement was reaching the quarter-finals in 2023. A year later, Swiatek was even eliminated in the third round.

Among the four Grand Slams, it is only at Wimbledon that Swiatek has never reached the semifinals. For this reason, the 24-year-old tennis player is preparing to be more mature this year.

Swiatek adapted to the transition from clay to grass at the WTA 500 Bad Homburg in Germany from June 22–28. She finished runner-up at the tournament.

Although she failed to emerge as the champion, Swiatek reached her first final in any event in over a year. This title drought has caused Swiatek to drop from the number 1 ranking and be seeded 8th at the All England Club.

More importantly, Swiatek has adapted seamlessly to grass, a valuable asset for her Wimbledon campaign.

"I, of course, feel that I have worked hard to develop in this field. So this year, I feel I can continue to train and practice with myself. I will keep doing that," said Swiatek.

"I'll recover today, try not to celebrate too much, but focus on the next match," he said again.

In the semifinals on Thursday (10/7/2025), Swiatek will face Belinda Bencic for a ticket to the final match. The other semifinal features the top seed, Aryna Sabalenka, against the 13th seed, Amanda Anisimova.

Bencic advanced to the semifinals after defeating the tournament's seventh seed, Mirra Andreeva (Russia), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2). Bencic, who is 28 years old, or a decade older than Andreeva, is competing in her second major tournament since returning to play after giving birth to her first child in April 2024.

Bencic is one of nine mothers in the Wimbledon singles draw, but the only one still competing. Bencic missed Wimbledon last year due to maternity leave and returned to competition in October 2024.

It was a brilliant comeback for Bencic, defeating Andreeva. Bencic's opponent was trying to become the first 18-year-old to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since Maria Sharapova in 2005.

In her efforts, Andreeva was supported by an impressive performance, having never lost a single set in four matches and having played one set with a score of 4-4. However, Bencic also arrived with more experience and greater motivation, especially after failing to advance past the round of 16 in her previous eight participations.

Now, Bencic has become the first female semifinalist from Switzerland at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis 27 years ago. Bencic's only appearance in the semifinals of the other four Grand Slam tournaments ended in defeat at the US Open in 2019, two years before she won the gold medal in singles at the Tokyo Olympics.

For Swiatek and Bencic, the semifinal match will mark their first encounter in the Grand Slam's final four. Swiatek leads with three victories out of four meetings.

Their last meeting came at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in the round of 16. That time, Swiatek emerged victorious.

"I am very proud. Previously, I rarely said it to myself, but since having Bella (my daughter), I tell myself every day. Not just me, I wouldn't be able to do it without my amazing family and team," said Bencic.

"We are working hard to rise. We enjoy life on tour and playing well is a bonus. I am usually very happy to be able to play again, as my body allows it," he stated further.