Athletes fuel themselves in many ways: Tom Brady has his TB12 method. Michael Phelps consumed about 10,000 calories daily while training. WNBA star Caitlin Clark dreams of chicken Parmesan, pasta and chocolate milk after a game. But for one of tennis’ top-ranked athletes, her go-to is simple: strawberries and cream.
No, not the strawberries and cream long associated with Wimbledon, but strawberries and cream over — wait for it — pasta. According to tennis star Iga Swiatek, ranked No. 3 in the world after winning her Wimbledon singles championship Saturday, makaron z truskawkami, as the dish is called in her home country of Poland, is her go-to.
“I ate it as a kid,” she said in a post-match interview last week, before Saturday’s finals. “It’s pasta with strawberries — pasta, strawberries, a little bit of yogurt — it’s just great.” Her response was met with audible gasps and murmurs from the Wimbledon crowd. “How strange,” the interviewer mused.
A video clip of the interview, posted to the official Wimbledon TikTok account, has been viewed 2 million times and garnered hundreds of comments. Some were skeptical: “What on Earth are people eating,” read one. Most commenters, however, were thrilled to see a nostalgic Polish dish publicized and praised on a global stage.
“Best Polish summer food ever made,” read one comment on Wimbledon’s TikTok. “Brings back childhood memories,” read another. Many reminisced about eating the dish at their grandmother’s house or for a primary-school lunch. At the famous Bar Prasowy in Warsaw, a plate of strawberry pasta goes for 9 złoty, about $2.50.