Watch: 'No way!' - 'Thief' Iga Swiatek given 'special delivery' amid 'viral' Wimbledon accessory heist

Iga Swiatek, ahead of her first-round match at Wimbledon 2026, was the recipient of a surprise gift that continues her accessory "heist" at the tournament. The Pole comes into SW19 looking to defend her title win last year.

Amid last year's run to her first Wimbledon title, Swiatek became known as the 'towel thief' for her conspicuous efforts at acquiring as many of the popular accessories as possible.

And in her pre-tournament press conference, she was clearly intrigued by some information shared by a reporter.

Reporter: "There's a strawberry towel this year."

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Swiatek: "No way! Really? Yeah, but it's not an on-court towel, so...right?"

Reporter: "It's a limited edition one."

Swiatek: "I'll ask for it anyway."

As it turned out, Swiatek didn't have to ask for it, as the Wimbledon staff made sure she got one of her own before they ran out, having it presented to her as she finished practising at Aorangi Park.

"Oh my goodness!" Swiatek exclaimed.

"Thank you, wow. Strawberries, I love it. It's my new favourite."

Swiatek elaborated on the "viral" theme as she admitted planning to snipe more this year.

"Let's start with the fact that I don't have any towels left from last year," she said.

"My friends want it, my family want it. I gave it to some charity because the thing became viral, obviously.

"So I guess I should steal even more. Yeah, I will continue that because that's the best kind of souvenir you can get from a tournament."

Swiatek defends her title at SW19 after a mixed 2026 in the Grand Slams so far.

The Pole exited at the quarter-final stage at the Australian Open, losing to Elena Rybakina, and fell at Roland-Garros - on her favoured clay surface - in the fourth round to Marta Kostyuk, whereafter she described her struggles with "stress" and the "dialogue inside" her mind.

Experts react to 'total collapse' from Swiatek in shock loss to Kostyuk - 'I didn't see any fight'

Video credit: TNT Sports

And though Swiatek has fond memories of her sensational double-bagel win over Amanda Anisimova in last year's Wimbledon final, she has been careful not to expect the same this time out.

"Even though I won, I still feel like I have stuff to figure out," she said.

"This year even, the Bad Homburg tournament didn't really get me that nice rhythm that I had last year.

"I feel like I'm starting from a totally different position, and I'm really in a place that I'm keeping my expectations low.

"Even though everybody is talking about this, I feel like I need to play matches, and it's not going to be smooth because of last year."

Swiatek takes on the USA's Taylor Townsend in her first-round match on Tuesday.

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