Iga Swiatek sent a touching message to Amanda Anisimova after demolishing the American 6-0 6-0 in Saturday’s Wimbledon final. The No. 8 seed stormed through in 57 minutes to win her sixth Grand Slam title and her first at SW19, and shared some words of support to her rival.

Anisimova has enjoyed an impressive grass-court season, also reaching the final at Queen’s and the quarters in Berlin. But her time on the surface came to a disappointing end when she suffered a double-bagel defeat - the first in Open Era history - in the championship match at Wimbledon, and then broke down during her own speech.

And Swiatek wanted to remind the 23-year-old of her recent success. “First of all I want to congratulate Amanda for an amazing two weeks,” the newly-crowned champion said.

“No matter what happened today, you should be proud of the work you’re doing and I hope we’re going to play many more finals. You have the game for that, so congrats to your team as well.”

Swiatek came into Saturday’s match as easily the most experienced player. While Anisimova was contesting her first Grand Slam final, the Pole already had five Major titles under her belt. But she never imagined she’d lift the Venus Rosewater Dish given her professional results on grass.

The eighth seed continued: “I didn’t even dream of this. For me it was way too far [to dream of]. I feel like I’m already an experienced player after winning Slams before but I never really expected this one.

“So I want to thank my team because I feel like they believed in me more than I did. My coach joined this year and we showed everyone it’s working after some ups and downs. I would be nowhere without my team’s trust and constant support. This is the best thing a player can have. Sorry, I’ll just continue if I can!”

Swiatek then addressed the rest of her team in Polish, before apologising to the fans on Centre Court. “Sorry for Polish, I’m switching back to English,” she smiled.

“I want to thank everyone who makes this tournament so unique because there’s no tournament like it. I was always anxious because walking around here, being on Centre Court.

“It was huge pressure, a bit too much, but this year I really enjoyed it and improved my game enough to feel comfortable. I’m always going to remember the popping of bottles between serves. It’s a sound that’s going to keep me awake at night!

“I’m going to enjoy these moments and hopefully you’re going to enjoy tomorrow’s men’s final, and see you next year.”

The former world No. 1 enjoyed a lap of honour around Centre Court with her latest piece of silverware before heading inside the clubhouse with chairwoman Deborah Jevans, and then greeted a host of special guests, including the Princess of Wales. She finally headed out into the famous balcony to lift her trophy up in front of hordes of fans on the grounds.

To be the first to receive the latest Wimbledon news, join our WhatsApp community or Wimbledon newsletter