Kate Middleton made another celebrated return to public life on July 12 as she appeared at Centre Court to present trophies at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships as Iga Swiatek defeated the United States’ Amanda Anisimova.
This marked Kate Middleton’s first public appearance at the tournament this year and her first major public engagement since announcing she was in remission following cancer treatment.
In her capacity as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the Princess awarded the ladies’ singles trophies following the final, which Poland’s Swiatek won 6-0, 6-0 in London.
Kate’s presence on Centre Court was announced late by Kensington Palace, who issued a rare statement confirming the 43-year-old would be attending the 138th edition of the championships – one of tennis’ grand slams.
As she arrived in the Royal Box, the Princess received a standing ovation. Spectators rose in unison, applauding her strength and welcoming her return to royal duties and the crowd’s reaction underscored the depth of public support for the royal.
Swiatek gives the Anisimova no chance on Saturday
While the Princess’s return was a central emotional moment, the tennis itself delivered a historic spectacle as Swiatek blasted Anisimova aside in under one hour (57 minutes) on Saturday.
It marked her sixth Grand Slam and, crucially, her first on grass courts after struggling to go beyond the quarterfinals at Wimbledon previously, and exiting the 2024 edition in the third round.
Her performance marked the most one-sided women’s final in London in over a century as no woman had achieved a “double bagel” win at the famous tournament since 1911 and she was well aware of the accomplishment.
“It seems super surreal,” said the 24-year-old Swiatek. “Honestly, I didn’t even dream of winning Wimbledon because it was way too far.
“I feel like I’m an experienced player, having won other Slams, but I didn’t expect this.”
Already a dominant force on clay and hard courts, her struggles on grass had held her back from a collection of Grand Slam wins across all three surfaces, but that came to a close in 2025 as she won the competition for the first time.
Placing her in elite company, she is now the youngest woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to achieve this milestone as she thoroughly commanded Centre Court and left her opponent no way into the game.
Anisimova, three months younger than Swiatek and seeded 13th, was unable to overcome nerves on the sport’s biggest stage as she committed 28 unforced errors and five double faults, unable to withstand the pressure and weight of Swiatek’s relentless baseline game.
Jannik Sinner will take on Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday to round out Wimbledon in 2025, before eyes turn to the final Grand Slam of the year: the US Open, which will be hosted from August 24 to September 7.
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