 "Iga Swiatek joked about taking 6-7 towels from Wimbledon. Image: X/Wimbledon")
World No. 4 Iga Swiatek made a solid start to her Wimbledon 2025 campaign on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Russia’s Polina Kudermetova in the first round. However, what caught people’s attention most wasn’t her performance on court, but her light-hearted comments about collecting Wimbledon towels.
After the match, Swiatek was asked how many Wimbledon towels she had taken home. She laughed and said it was because her friends and family always ask for Grand Slam towels.
“It’s like a topic no one talks about. We love our towels, you know. Every time I come back from a Slam, I have like 10 friends and 10 family members wanting towels. So, sorry guys, sorry Wimbledon,” Swiatek said with a smile.
She added that she doesn’t need more for herself, but she still takes them for others. “I have a lot at home, trust me. If I play 15 more years, I’ll have to build another room in my house just for Grand Slam towels.”
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Swiatek bounces back after tough challenge
Facing a Wimbledon debutant, the five-time Grand Slam champion might have hoped for an easy ride as no doubt she would have liked to escape the Court 2 furnace as quickly as possible with the temperature soaring above 33 degrees Celsius.
Despite being a grasscourt novice, Kudermetova refused to be overawed by the occasion, or her opponent, as she went toe-to-toe from the baseline with Swiatek for 45 minutes.
It was not the kind of first-round trial Swiatek would have wanted as she bids to improve her rather mediocre record at the All England Club, which remains the only major where she has not contested at least a semi-final.
In fact, it was not until the penultimate point of the opening set that Swiatek earned her first break point, which the eighth seed duly converted when Kudermetova netted a backhand to surrender the set.
That blow effectively snuffed out the 22-year-old Russian’s hopes of winning a match at a Grand Slam for the first time as her baseline tactics fell apart in the second.
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While Kudermetova had kept Swiatek second-guessing her game-plan for the duration of the 45-minute opening set, the former world number one raced through the second in only 24 minutes, securing the win with a sizzling backhand winner.
“I’m glad my game clicked in the second set and am glad some fans came to see us today as it’s so hot,” Swiatek told the crowd after setting up a second round meeting with American Caty McNally.
(With agency inputs)