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LONDON: Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova clash in the Wimbledon final on Saturday with a new women’s champion guaranteed for the eighth consecutive year.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek had previously never gone beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club while US 13th seed Anisimova is preparing for her first major final.

No player has retained the crown since the now-retired Serena Williams won her seventh and final Wimbledon title in 2016.

Aryna Sabalenka started as the hot favorite after reaching the past three Grand Slam finals but faltered in a gripping semifinal against Anisimova.

Poland’s Swiatek is seeded eighth at Wimbledon following a disappointing first half of the season, though she is back up to fourth in the rankings after reaching the final of the grass-court Bad Homburg tournament.

That run, together with her surge through the draw at All England Club, suggests the 24-year-old is cured of her grass-court allergy.

Initially she went under the radar at Wimbledon, with the focus on Sabalenka and French Open champion Coco Gauff, but she kept winning while the top seeds tumbled, dropping just one set on route to the final.

Swiatek brushed aside former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in Thursday’s semifinal.

Four of her five Grand Slam titles have come on the clay of Roland Garros and she won the 2022 US Open on hard courts.

But she is finally showing an affinity with the lawns of Wimbledon, a development that has shocked even her.

“Honestly, I never even dreamed that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final,” Swiatek said.

“So I’m just super-excited and proud of myself and, I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising me.

“I’ve been enjoying just this new feeling of being a bit more comfortable on grass.”

Swiatek has won all five of her Grand Slam finals, but standing in the way of a sixth major title and a cheque for $4 million (£3 million) is Anisimova.

The 23-year-old American shattered Sabalenka’s title bid with a shock 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win on Thursday.

Anisimova has overcome many obstacles to make her maiden Grand Slam final.

She reached the French Open semifinals in 2019 at the age of just 17.

But in 2023 she took an eight-month break from the court for mental health reasons, tumbling out the top 400.

This time last year, she was on the comeback trail but was ranked too low to get into the Wimbledon main draw and fell in qualifying.

“If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you. It’s indescribable to be honest,” she said.

Anisimova, whose parents emigrated from Russia in the 1990s, added: “I think it goes to show that it is possible.

“I think that’s a really special message that I think I’ve been able to show because when I took my break, 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.”

Anisimova won the Qatar Open in February and showed she was comfortable on grass by reaching the Queen’s Club final in June.

She is guaranteed to reach the top 10 for the first time when the rankings are updated on Monday.

The two players have never met professionally, though they did face each other as juniors, with Swiatek coming out on top.

“I did lose that match against her, unfortunately,” said Anisimova. “I remember a lot of coaches were saying that she’s going to be a big deal one day. Obviously they were right.

“I’m sure it will be an amazing match. Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special.”

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said the scorching heat at the Club World Cup in the United States left him feeling dizzy and described the high temperatures as “dangerous” to play in.
The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup, which concludes on Sunday with Chelsea facing Paris Saint-Germain in the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, has delivered a spectacle on the pitch but concerns over player welfare and lukewarm attendances in the US have sparked a debate.
Tuesday’s semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense which took place at 3 p.m. local time in New Jersey saw temperatures soar past 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) with over 54 percent humidity, prompting a National Weather Service warning.
Soaring temperatures in several cities hosting the Club World Cup have been a focal point in the tournament, which is seen as a dry run for next year’s men’s World Cup.
“Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy,” Fernandez told reporters on Friday.
“Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous. Moreover, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, for the people who watch it at home.
“The game, the speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.
“Well, let’s hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle, right?” the 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina added.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has also previously complained about the heat, saying it was “impossible” to organize regular training sessions in the afternoons in Philadelphia.
“Some places have been really hot, the last round was hot and I was stuck watching it and I was thinking: ‘wow, this is so tough.’ I felt bad for them but they managed it really well,” Chelsea center back Levi Colwill said.