Iga Świątek proved in 2025 that her game could win Wimbledon, and in 2026 she found how quickly grass form can disappear. The defending champion started the season 1st in the women’s GTC Grass Rankings and finished 14th, with her GTC Grass Rating down from 128 to 111.
Grass at a glance
- GTC Grass Rating: 111, 14th in the women’s rankings (1st before the season, on 128)
- Pillars: Lawn Form 48, Arsenal 76, Wimbledon 78, Nerve 70
- Nationality: Poland
- Best Wimbledon result: Champion (2025)
- Grass titles: Wimbledon 2025
- Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
How Iga plays on grass
Świątek’s natural game is built on heavy topspin and elite movement, which is ideal on clay and less so on a surface that keeps the ball low. Her 2025 Wimbledon title came from adjusting: a flatter forehand, a more aggressive return position, a better first serve and a willingness to shorten points. When those pieces work, her speed lets her defend and counter on grass as well as anyone, and her Arsenal score of 76 reflects that adapted version.
The adjustment is fragile. When her timing is off, the forehand lands short, opponents attack it, and she is drawn into the sliding defence that grass punishes. Her Nerve score of 70 is still solid, but in 2026 she lost a first-set tie-break 11-9 in her biggest grass match and did not recover.
Grass record
For several years Wimbledon was her least successful major. She reached the fourth round in 2021, losing to Ons Jabeur, went out in the third round in 2022 and 2024 and made the quarter-finals in 2023.
Everything changed in 2025. She reached the Bad Homburg final, losing to Jessica Pegula, then won Wimbledon for her sixth major, beating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the first double bagel in a Wimbledon final since 1911. On the way she beat Liudmila Samsonova in the quarter-finals.
The 2026 grass season
Her 2026 build-up was unsettled. She split with coach Wim Fissette, who had guided the Wimbledon win, in March, and added Francisco Roig, a long-time member of Rafael Nadal’s team, in April. At Bad Homburg, as top seed, she lost her opening match to Emma Navarro in three sets, her second straight defeat by the American. The GTC rating still edged from 128 to 129, because of how little grass she had played since her Wimbledon title.
Seeded 3rd at Wimbledon, she survived a difficult opener against Taylor Townsend and won her second round before Alexandra Eala beat her 7-6(9), 6-2 in the third round. She was 23-12 for the season at that point, without a final, and admitted afterwards that her level was not where it needed to be. Losing as defending champion so early took the heaviest toll in the GTC model, and the rating fell to 111.
Looking ahead to 2027
The 2027 summer is about rebuilding the version of her game that won in 2025. More grass matches before Wimbledon, with Bad Homburg and one other event, would help, as would a settled coaching set-up after the changes of 2026. The technical keys are the same as before: depth on the forehand, first-serve percentage and taking the return early. Her Wimbledon pillar remains high, and a realistic target is a return to the second week and a place back in the top 5 on the GTC list.
