Swiatek comes to the Wimbledon final with a turbulent year behind her. In November, the Pole tested positive for the doping-classed heart medication trimetazidin – but got away with just a month's suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency, ITIA, accepted that the Pole had ingested the substance because another medicine had been contaminated.
My life was turned upside down. It was not easy to accept. It took me a long time to do so, Swiatek told BBC earlier this year.
Clashed with journalists
Swiatek has also found herself involved in several incidents where she seemingly did not have her head in the right place. In March, she was criticized after verbally reacting aggressively towards a ball boy during Indian Wells and in Rome, she clashed with journalists after an early exit from the tournament.
It's clear that I'm doing something wrong. I need to gather myself and change things, said the Pole after the incident in Rome.
Until this year's tournament, Swiatek has also had something of a Wimbledon ghost after her – the star had previously not made it further than the quarterfinals on the grass outside London. And the former world number one has not been so lowly ranked, eighth in the world, since March 2022.
Took a long break from tennis
On the other side of the net, 12th-ranked Amanda Anisimova is waiting. The American reached the semifinals in the French Championships in 2019, just 17 years old, but just four years later, she needed to take a break from tennis.
The reason? Anisimova had problems with mental health, was burned out and found tennis "unbearable".
I learned to listen honestly to myself, to my intuition and my body, said the 23-year-old to BBC before the semifinal against world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
The American did not touch a racket for several months, but is now just one match away from getting to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish two years after her long break from tennis.
It has been a journey, but I finally found myself and my confidence.
The women's Wimbledon final will be decided on Saturday.
