Iga Swiatek avoided the upset bug that has bitten many of tennis' top players at Wimbledon on Thursday as she rallied from a set down in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory over American Caty McNally.
With five Top 10 seeds already out of the women's event over the first three days of the tournament, Swiatek looked as though she might join them as she cut a frustrated figure on Centre Court over the first hour of play, letting a 4-1 first-set lead slip away against a player she knows well.
McNally was a junior peer, and rival, of Swiatek; she beat Swiatek in the semifinals of the 2018 junior French Open, where they teamed up to win the doubles title. But their professional paths diverged greatly since then. While Swiatek soared to the top of the WTA rankings, McNally found her greatest success in doubles with a career-high ranking of No. 53 in singles, and has been working her way back following a major elbow injury that necessitated surgery last year.
Ranked outside the Top 1,000 in the world when she came back to tennis in November, McNally missed five Grand Slam tournaments before returning at the Australian Open in January on a protected ranking. Now back at No. 208, her 6-3, 6-1 win over Great Britain's Jodie Burrage in the first round was her first victory at a major since Melbourne in 2023.
That lack of high-level match play showed for McNally over sets two and three, as she was unable to sustain the level required to earn a first career Top 10 win.
