Wimbledon 2026: Townsend tests defending champion Iga Swiatek in opener

Wimbledon 2026: Townsend tests defending champion Iga Swiatek in opener

Defending champion Iga Swiatek kicked off her Wimbledon title defense with a hard-fought victory over American Taylor Townsend.

The Polish third seed won the match 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, extending her Wimbledon winning streak to eight matches.

Swiatek recovered from a second-set stumble before surviving a grueling opening game in the third set. It included four break points.

Here are the key numbers.

A look at match stats

Swiatek won 88 points and 25 winners in the match.

Townsend turned the tables in the second set by playing smart and varied grass-court tennis. She had a win percentage of 68 on her second serve in the set, drawing Swiatek into errors.

However, Swiatek won 68% of points on her first serve in the match. But she had 36 unforced errors.