Strawberries and Pasta? Iga Swiatek’s Unique Wimbledon Tradition

 Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Spectator consumes strawberry. (Reuters)
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Spectator consumes strawberry. (Reuters)
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Strawberries and Pasta? Iga Swiatek’s Unique Wimbledon Tradition

 Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Spectator consumes strawberry. (Reuters)
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Spectator consumes strawberry. (Reuters)

Strawberries hold a special place in Wimbledon tradition. But strawberries and pasta?

Iga Swiatek explained that it's a dish from her native Poland.

"Why is it such a big thing? Everybody should eat that," a smiling Swiatek said after her third-round victory over Danielle Collins on Saturday. "I think in summer kids are eating it a lot. I don’t know. It’s just a perfect mix of tastes."

The All England Club estimates that more than 35 tons of strawberries, usually with cream, are eaten each year during the two-week tournament. Spectators can buy strawberry-inspired merchandise all over the grounds.

The five-time Grand Slam champion mentioned the combination during her on-court interview, urging fans "you should try it guys — pasta, strawberries, a little bit of yogurt." She later posted a photo on her Instagram account that showed a bowl of pasta and strawberries.

A journalist quizzed her about who has better strawberries, Poland or England?

"Honestly, I think Poland," Swiatek said. "Because we have better climate for strawberries, right? Now Wimbledon is probably going to ban me from answering these questions."



Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
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Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci

Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organized hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three meters (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses.

The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings.

Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years.

"Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said.

Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years.

The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people.

It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work.

Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe.

"They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said.

Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area.

"(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said.