Swiatek finds feet on grass to end Tauson challenge

It has not been the best 12 months for Iga Swiatek, but the Pole is finally finding form on grass, her least favoured surface, and is through to her 12th grand slam quarter-final after a 6-4, 6-1 victory against the world No 22 Clara Tauson.

- Yara El-Shaboury

It can be easy to forget how young Swiatek is, with five grand slam titles to her name at 24 years old. But the past year has shown there is room for growth in her game, with the player admitting she has struggled mentally. The Pole is seeded No 8 here—low for her standards—and her most recent singles title came more than a year ago, at the 2024 French Open. Her first final of this season came at the end of last month at Bad Homburg, where she lost against Jessica Pegula in straight sets.

Tauson's lack of serve against the world No 4 was her biggest downfall, hitting only one ace to Swiatek's four and having a lowly first-serve-points-won percentage of 64%. It was surprising given she had entered Wimbledon ranked second in the WTA for most aces served this year (223) and has served 28 aces at the tournament, the highest in women's singles. Her big first serves helped impressively to bring about her first career win against a top-20 player on grass in the last round, defeating the 2022 champion, Elena Rybakina.