"I found some joy in playing on grass"- Iga Swiatek reflects on Wimbledon exit after 'big step' forward

Iga Swiatek stated after her 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinal loss that she enjoyed playing on grass and that she felt like she had taken a big step forward in her development on the surface.

The top seed was the heavy favorite but was stunned by an inspired Elina Svitolina at the All-England Championships on Centre Court, as the former suffered a quarterfinal exit, following a 5-7, 7-6(5), 2-6 loss.

After her loss, Swiatek took to social media to reflect on her performance on the grass this season. The World No. 1 stated that she was proud and content with her efforts, as she reached the semifinals in Bad Homburg and the quarterfinals at SW19.

She said that she worked extremely hard, learned a lot, and even found "joy" in playing on grass. The 22-year-old also said that she and her team knew what they needed to improve upon and that they were focused on doing so in the future.

“It's been a while since I wrote more than few sentences here and maybe now it's a good opportunity to elaborate," Swiatek wrote. "What a journey on grass this year. I'm proud and content we made it to play two tournaments and achieve semis in Bad Homburg and quarter-final at #Wimbledon."

"It's a big step we took. I put in a lot of work, learnt a lot and what's better: I found some joy in playing on grass. We know what to improve, what to work on and focus on and that's the most important part of this experience for me this year," she added.

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Wimbledon final: A new champion to be crowned as Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova clash

Ons Jabeur in the Women's Singles Semi Finals against Aryna Sabalenka

Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will face each other in the 2023 Wimbledon final on Saturday, July 15. The head-to-head record between the two players is fascinating. They are evenly matched, and the fact that they've split their previous six meetings makes the Wimbledon final even more unpredictable.

The 28-year-old Tunisian defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, winning the match 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 to reach her second consecutive Wimbledon final. Vondrousova had come through tough tests in the past two rounds, having knocked out Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals and then winning in straight sets against Elina Svitolina.

Former World No. 2 Jabeur will be looking to avenge her loss against the 24-year-old in Indian Wells earlier this year, while the Czech will be expecting to continue her dream run. It should be an intriguing match, given both players are looking to win their maiden Grand Slam title.