Defending Champion Iga Swiatek withdraws from Bejing

World No.1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek has withdrawn from the upcoming China Open in Beijing, citing personal reasons, she and the tournament announced on Friday.

"Due to personal matters, I’m forced to withdraw from the China Open in Beijing. I’m very sorry as I had an amazing time playing and winning this tournament last year and was really looking forward to being back there.

"I know that the fans will experience great tennis there and I’m sorry I won’t be a part of it this time."

The China Open begins on Sept. 25. Last year, Swiatek lost just one set in Beijing en route to winning her sixth career WTA 1000 title in her tournament debut. After ending 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff's 16-match winning streak in the semifinals, Swiatek defeated Liudmila Samsonova in the final.

This year, Swiatek has won four of the previous eight WTA 1000 events played but last competed in New York. She also withdrew from this week's Hana Bank Korea Open in Seoul citing fatigue.

While Swiatek, World No.9 Maria Sakkari (continuing shoulder injury) and World No.10 Danielle Collins (illness) have withdrawn from the main-draw field, the rest of the Top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings are all expected to compete. In addition, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from qualifying with a knee injury.

Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will be the top seed in Beijing, a tournament at which she has reached the quarterfinals twice in three career appearances, and US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula is expected to be seeded No.2.

wtatennis.com

I hope everything is ok whatever the reason, hope Iga takes all the time she needs. Though for me the tournament won't be the same without her. 

Thoughts on Iga Swiatek's U.S. Open 2024

Ever since Iga's loss in the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Open there has been a lot of talk on social media regarding improving her tennis starting with changing her team members. Which seems to be the case literally every time she loses early in a Slam. 

People really don't seem to get that a good team takes years to put together and trust not to mention have any meaningful results with. 

Sure sometimes a new voice or perspective is helpful, but the reality of this sport (any sport really) is that you win more than you lose no matter who is part of your team. 

It is impossible to win every tournament no matter how good of an athlete you are, at the end of the day athletes are still human. And they have periods of doubt, mental and physical fatigue.

I think a  lot of people, maybe even Iga herself underestimated how big of a part the Olympics played in the exhaustion for her this year. 

Representing Poland at the Olympics  meant everything to her and the emotions of not winning gold, but coming back to win the bronze must have felt so exhilarating and depleting all at once.

And I think on some level it all contributed to this poor performance in the quarters. It was probably her worst performance all year (and considering she's played over 50 matches) is extraordinary, but sadly under appreciated by many. 

She won 5 titles in the first half of the season (all of them WTA 1000) which are equally as difficult if not more so than a Slam, and yet they don't seem to count because only one of them was a Slam. I don't understand the mentality this sport has regarding the 4 big events.

Tour accomplishments should get the same level of recognition and yet the governing bodies put less significance to them throughout the year and only seem to remember them as part of summation at the end of each season. Or they only get a mention if you win more than 1 slam in a given year. And it's so weird to me. 

While they're important and get the most attention they alone would not be enough to sustain a player in a season (financially and motivation-wise). It's the tour events that showcase how great someone is at managing themselves throughout the year.  

Granted the tour tournaments come with it's on pitfalls which include poor organization in terms of the amount the players are required to play which in the last few years have greatly increased along with the tournaments length.

All of that combined makes it extremely difficult for any player these days to be able to work on their game while constantly on tour. 

Unless they choose to take an extended break either voluntarily or due to injury (as was the case for Sabalenka and Pegula this year). Both of whom reached the U.S. Open final. 

Sabalenka skipped the Olympics and Wimbledon due to injury and I believe it is the sole reason she won. She had plenty of time to rest and properly prepare.

Iga was asked this question in the post match presser and said she has no plans to do the same. I can see both sides of this argument, and the advantages and disadvantages that come with. 

On the one hand it'd allow her to work on things at own pace, but on the other she might be a person for whom an extended break makes it harder to get back into the rhythm and stay motivated (not the mention all the external factors of sponsors, endorsements and being world #1).

Sure she has under performed in Slams as a whole, something her and her team will undoubtedly work hard on to improve. But it is not something that will happen overnight as some people out there seem to think. It's a process that takes time.

As a fan I'm also getting very tired of comments regarding a players ability to dominate on one surface, clay in Iga's case (hard court in Aryna's).

I see nothing wrong with it. Plenty of players have made a whole career out of one particular time of year (Nadal being the prime example). 

Of course in Iga's case the argument is that as the world #1 she should be more adapt on all surfaces on tour. 

Which is valid. 

But there's also the fact that Iga is only 23, even the greatest champions of this sport didn't figure out the different surfaces over night. It took them years, in some cases quite a few. 

Some never did.

But I firmly believe that with her skill, patience and hard work Iga will get there as well. 

It's premature to write off someone's whole career based off of one season's result (a season which isn't even over yet I might add). 

But sadly it seems to be something a lot of people are doing in regards to Iga after this U.S. Open especially and it's quite disparaging for someone of her talent. 

My hope for the rest of this season and beyond is that Iga gets some time to properly relax and recharge before getting back to training and whatever else she needs in order to continue to enjoy being a part of this sport. 

Because the sport is truly better with her in it.

Iga Swiatek back in the quarterfinals of U.S. Open

 

WHAT HAPPENED: While the rest of the women’s field is busy making headlines and stealing the spotlight at the 2024 US Open, top seed and former champion Iga Swiatek is quietly making her way through the draw.

In her milestone 100th Grand Slam singles match Monday night, Swiatek celebrated with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Liudmila Samsonova to move into the quarterfinals and bring her record at the majors to 83-17.

The world No. 1 has not yet dropped a set through four rounds, and her high level of play showed no signs of weakness against the 6-foot-tall Samsonova.

The No. 16 seed’s big game kept her toe-to-toe with Swiatek through much of the first set, giving fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium a peek into why she has been to this stage of a major twice before. But once Swiatek got a look at triple set point on Samsonova’s serve in the 10th game, she ran away with the opportunity and closed out the one-set lead.

“At the beginning I felt like we were playing men's style tennis, holding serve every game,” Swiatek said post-match. “But I knew if I kept pushing I would have chances to break her serve. In the second I just wanted to keep being focused and not let my mind drift off.”

By the start of the second set, Swiatek had settled into her service game and took a firm grip on the match, winning 13 of 14 first-serve points and 56 percent of return points. Two breaks of serve were all the Pole needed to shut down Samsonova’s game and seal the victory in the second after racing out to a 5-0 lead.

WHAT IT MEANS: The top seed’s win ensures she still has a chance to add to her WTA-leading season. Swiatek leads the WTA Tour with 57 match wins on the year after taking five titles, including her fourth Roland Garros crown, and an Olympic bronze medal.

Swiatek’s next opponent in New York is a familiar one, as she will square off against No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula in their third quarterfinal meeting at a Grand Slam. Previously, Swiatek defeated the American at this same stage en route to her 2022 Roland Garros and US Open titles. As they enter their 10th career meeting, the Pole owns a 6-3 advantage.

Wednesday’s match will be the pair's first meeting this year, and with the American playing some of her best tennis, Swiatek knows that she will need to keep her legs fresh and ready for what is sure to be a physical match.

"Jess is never easy to play," said the top seed. "She has a tricky game style so I have to be ready for longer rallies. She's a great player, so for sure it’s going to be a challenge."

MATCH POINT: Swiatek did not face a single break point in the match, and has only lost two of four break points the entire tournament.

usopen.org

That first round of this U.S. Open is starting to look and feel like an anomaly. 

She has dramatically improved her game (her backhand in particular) in the last few matches and gone back to relying on her strength which is her speed, defense and return all of which she is doing in a more controlled manner (I'm honestly getting shades of 2022). 

And it's making me so happy. You can actually see she's enjoying herself out there despite being tired (it being another long season and all).

It's like she's found that level she usually only finds on her favourite surface and the one she found at the end of the season last year starting in Bejing.  And it's an absolute joy to witness again. 

Pegula will certainly be her biggest test yet (I thought Samsonova would be but she was only able to bring it for parts of set 1). 

Given the form Pegula is in winning in Canada she certainly  won't be short on confidence. 

The question remains though whether she will feel some nerves trying to reach her first ever Grand Slam semi something she has never done before and has a bit of a hang up on.

But I know Iga won't be counting on that she'll play her game to the best of her ability. I know she'll leave it all out on the court on Wednesday and I can't wait!.

Jazda Iga, like your fave tv show character Ted Lasso we believe :)                                  

For the first time in her career, Iga Świątek has gone three consecutive matches without getting broken. And not only that, but did it without facing a single break point across the 2R, 3R, and 4R (25 games).


12 - Defeating Liudmila Samsonova, Iga Swiatek is one of only four players in the past four decades to achieve 12 straight Grand Slam match wins over WTA top 20 opponents along with Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Serena Williams. Eminent.


83 - Among those to begin their career in the Open Era, only six have more wins from their first 100 GS matches than Iga Swiatek (83): Monica Seles, 93 Chris Evert, 90 Steffi Graf, 87 Martina Hingis & S. Williams, 86 V. Williams, 85 Company.

Iga Swiatek makes it 4 consecutive 2nd week's at U.S. Open

NEW YORK -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek eased past 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to book her spot in a fourth straight US Open Round of 16 on Saturday night.

And the 2022 US Open champion did it in style.

After earning an early break to lead 3-1 in the opening set, Swiatek struck her own version of the wicked backspinning winner that has been the signature hot shot of the opening week of the tournament. In response to a big first serve down the tee from Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek lunged for a forehand squash return that floated in the air before handing just over the net.

Pavlyuchenkova's casual jog towards what looked like an easy put-away was quickly derailed by the spin on the ball, which took it right back over the net and out of her reach for a clean winner. Swiatek put her hands up to apologize for her stroke of luck and Pavlyuchenkova could only drop her head and tap the netcord in disbelief. Even chair umpire Julie Kjendlie let out a wry smile.

"I would be giving too much credit to myself if I said I had control over it," Swiatek said after the match, "but I guess in situations like that, you remember it's worth it to kind of reach for every ball even though you think you might not get it.

"It was mostly luck."

Swiatek improved her head-to-head record to 2-0 over Pavlyuchenkova with a performance that was equal parts gritty and dominant. Bidding to make her second Grand Slam fourth round of the season, Swiatek broke immediately in the first game and protected that lead under pressure to take the first set after 51 minutes.

Swiatek did not face a break point in the opening set, but Pavlyuchenkova was able to take three of the Pole's service games to 30-all. After pocketing the first set, Swiatek powered through the remainder of the match to score her third straight-set win of the tournament. She finished with 19 winners to nine unforced errors.

Swiatek will face No.16 seed Liudmila Samsonova next, a rematch of last fall's China Open final, which Swiatek won 6-2, 6-2.

 wtatennis.com

I'd say Iga is definitely feeling more comfortable with each match today was another example. Focused, calm and in control. 

And the defense skils she shows took me right back to 2022. 

Samsonova certainly qualifies as tricky especially when she serves well. 

But I think if Iga just plays her game like she has been the past few matches she'll get through with no issues. It also depends on which Samsonova shows up as she hasn't always been consistent this season.