Iga Swiatek into the last 16 of Bejing via walkover

No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek advanced to the China Open fourth round on Monday after Camila Osorio retired with an abdominal injury following a 6-0 first set.

The first set had been closer than the scoreline suggested, with five of the six games going to deuce, but the Colombian took a medical timeout trailing 5-0. After serving a double fault to fall behind 0-40 in the opening game of the second set, she was forced to call it quits.

The first set was Swiatek's 17th 6-0 set of 2025 so far -- a tour-leading season tally, 10 more than second-placed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has won seven 6-0 sets.

"For sure I'm sorry for Camila, because she's always giving her 100%," Swiatek told press afterward. "She told me she got injured at the beginning of the match. It's always pretty sad to see that because we want to just compete. She wasn't able to. But overall, like besides that, I feel like I played good in the first set and really used my game to push Camila."

Swiatek will face No. 16 seed Emma Navarro in the last 16 after the American also advanced via retirement. A left thigh injury forced Roland Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson to pull the plug trailing 6-2, 1-0.

Swiatek has dropped only five games to Navarro across two previous meetings, winning 6-0, 6-2 at the 2018 Charleston ITF W80 and 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January.

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Iga Swiatek continues her win streak into Bejing

 

BEIJING (AP) — Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek defeated Yuan Yue 6-0, 6-3 on Saturday to advance to the third round at the China Open and create some WTA Tour history.

The WTA said Swiatek, with Saturday's win, became the first player to register 25 or more wins at WTA-1000 events for three consecutive seasons.

Top-seeded Swiatek, who won last week's Korea Open in Seoul, has also won the French Open four times and the US Open once among her six Grand Slam singles titles.

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Fantastic start to another Bejing campaign for Iga. In the zone and fearless hitting throughout. The court conditions of this tournament undoubtedly suit her to a tee. 

Iga Swiatek wins 25th career title in Korea Open thriller

The phrase “numbers don’t lie” is a common misconception – especially in tennis.

Take Sunday’s Korea Open final for example, where Iga Swiatek
 was outperformed by Ekaterina Alexandrova in nearly every single statistical category, including total points won.

Yet it was Swiatek who prevailed in Seoul, rallying to defeat Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in 2 hours and 41 minutes. The victory marked her third title of the season and the 25th of her career.

She is now 25-5 all-time in WTA finals.

“First of all, I want to congratulate Ekaterina for an amazing week and an amazing final,” Swiatek said during the trophy presentation. “Honestly, I don’t know how I won it because you were playing great and I just tried to stay alive.

“Hopefully we’re going to play more finals because it’s always tough against you, but it’s also entertaining.”

That “tried to stay alive” mentality ultimately gave Swiatek the edge in a match defined by razor-thin margins – aside from the lopsided opening set.

Alexandrova, the clear underdog, came out swinging and needed just 30 minutes to take the first set in convincing fashion, breaking Swiatek in the opening game and never looking back.

Swiatek flipped the script to start the second set, breaking Alexandrova immediately. But the momentum shifted again as Alexandrova broke back in the next game. The two then traded holds until it came time for a tiebreak, where Swiatek finally looked to be the one in control for the first time in the match.

She jumped out to a 3-0 lead, extended it to 5-2 and closed out the tiebreak 7-3 to force a decider.

Early in the third, Swiatek handed Alexandrova a break with three double faults in one game, falling behind 2-1. But she recovered, leveling the set at 3-all and taking the lead for just the second time in the match in the next game.

From there, scoreboard pressure worked in Swiatek’s favor. As Alexandrova served to stay in the match, Swiatek turned up the heat – blasting a cross-court forehand winner on her second match point to put away her opponent and seal the comeback.

Despite the loss, Alexandrova led nearly every key stat: she had more aces (6 to 2), fewer double faults (6 to 9), a higher first-serve percentage (595 to 535), a higher percentage of first serves won (66% to 58%), more winners (30 to 23), fewer unforced errors (25 to 40), more break points created (8 vs. 7) and a better conversion rate (63% to 43%), and most notably, more total points won (108 to 97).

But Swiatek was simply more clutch.

In the moments that mattered most – serving down 5-4 in the second set while Alexandrova was two points from victory, during the tiebreak, or when she trailed by a break in the third set – Swiatek showed exactly why she once held the world No. 1 ranking, and why she may reclaim it in the not-so-distant future.

For now, Swiatek remains No. 2 in both the PIF WTA Rankings as well as No. 2 in the Race to the WTA Finals.

But that’s not what matters most to her at the moment. With this title, Swiatek finally delivered a lasting legacy in Seoul – something her father, Tomasz Swiatek, narrowly missed.

“I’m happy that I could win here because of the family history,” Swiatek said. “My dad couldn’t win the Olympics [here] but at least I won this tournament. So hopefully he’s going to come next year to enjoy everything.”

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Iga went from no titles to winning a Grand Slam, a WTA 1000 and a WTA 500 in a span of a few months. 

Not a bad way to turn your season around. This one was extra special given how hard she had to fight to win it (as well as her dad taking part in the 1988 Seoul Olympics). 

Not having her best tennis on the day. Champions always find a way as the saying goes, she continues her great run when it comes to finals. 

 First final in her career  she had to won from a set down too. With how much she has done in her young career thus far sometimes it catches me off guard that there are still firsts she has yet to experience.

I have been watching this sport since my teens and to this day I'm still surprised how one player can win a match despite playing worse than their opponent. 

Iga had a negative ratio of winners to errors and only made just over 50 percent of serves the entire match yet somehow she still won. Tennis truly is about winning the clutch points, and the definition of not how you start but how you finish. 

I think it's one of the things that reminds why I love this sport so much and stick with it year after year.

I hope these type of matches remind Iga once more that she is capable of scrapping and fighting and making a comeback even when not at her best on the day. I hope she uses this as a great confidence builder for the remainder of the season.

So that's 25 out of 30 finals that Iga has played at just 24 years of age. It's the stuff of legends and her career has barely begun. 

Phenomenal.

With this win Iga became only the 2nd Polish woman to win in Seoul since Aga Radwanska in 2013 (who coincidently was also seeded first and also came back from losing the first set).

Iga Swiatek pulls off double duty to reach Korea Open semis in tournament debut

A rainout the previous day created a packed Saturday schedule at the Korea Open, with both the quarterfinals and semifinals being held just hours apart.

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek handled the challenge with ease.

She opened against Barbora Krejcikova in what was expected to be a competitive quarterfinal. Instead, Swiatek dominated, blanking the former Grand Slam champion in the first set. After trading breaks early in the second, she broke for a 4-3 lead and closed out the match 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour and 23 minutes.

Following a brief break, Swiatek returned to the court to face rising star Maya Joint in their first career meeting. Joint had upset No. 3 seed Clara Tauson in the quarterfinals earlier in the day, also by a score of 6-0, 6-3.

But the 19-year-old’s run ended in the semifinals. Swiatek, unfazed by the quick turnaround, delivered another commanding performance, winning 6-0, 6-2 in just over an hour to secure her spot in the final.

It was another case of Swiatek wasting no time in asserting control over her opponent, breaking at love in the opening game and needing just 25 minutes to bagel Joint in the first set.

Joint held serve to start the second set to finally get on the board, but Swiatek reeled off four straight games to go up a set and a double break. Joint showed further signs of life by converting a break point later in the set, but Swiatek won the final two games, closing out the match with a smash at the net.

Though she doesn’t know who she’ll face in Sunday’s final just yet, Swiatek is prepared for what lies ahead, taking confidence in the level she’s displayed so far this week.

“Let’s see who I play,” Swiatek said after the match. “But I’ll just focus on myself and on the goals that I had before and continue to do what I was doing throughout the tournament, because it's been working.

“The final is supposed to be the toughest and it always produces a different kind of stress, so I’m just happy that I’ve already played solid matches here.”

It marks Swiatek’s fourth individual final of the season -- all since June. She is 2-1 in finals this year, with titles at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open, and 24-5 overall in her career.

This will be her first Korea Open final.

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14 - Iga Swiatek has won 14 sets with a 6-0 scoreline in WTA level events this season, twice as many than the second best (Ekaterina Alexandrova with seven). Sailing.

I think this marked only the 2nd time Iga has had to play same day back to back matches in her career on the WTA Tour (last one was on clay in Rome at least 3 years ago).

It was mighty impressive, court conditions in Korea really seem to suit her game.

Iga Swiatek makes winning debut at Korea Open

No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek made a victorious debut at the Korea Open 2025 presented by Motiva on Thursday, defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2 to post her sixth win in six meetings with the Romanian -- and afterwards, she revealed the family connection that made it extra special.

Swiatek's father, Tomasz, was a rower who competed in the men's quadruple sculls event at one Olympic Games -- Seoul 1988. This may be his daughter's first time in the city, but she's been hearing about it for all of her life.

"The Olympics in 1988 were the highlight of his career, and he's been telling us stories about it since me and my sister were kids," Swiatek said in her on-court interview. "So I'm happy to explore this city -- he's been talking about being here as a great adventure. I play a different sport, but still we're at the Olympic venue and I'm surprised by how the whole city is still appreciating the Olympic tradition. It's great, because this event is the best the world has in any area. Playing here for sure is an honor, and maybe next year my dad will come!"

Playing her first match since losing in the US Open quarterfinals to Amanda Anisimova, Swiatek got off to a fast start against an opponent to whom she has only ever dropped one set -- the first set of their first meeting back at the 2022 Australian Open. She hammered a pair of forehand winners en route to breaking Cirstea in the first game, and swiftly built a 5-1 lead.

Cirstea still battled hard, saving the first five points against her with fine serving and getting one of the breaks back as Swiatek lapsed into error -- but another forehand winner from the Pole sealed her sixth set point. In the second set, Swiatek still had to navigate a few untidy moments -- she tallied 19 winners to 21 unforced errors overall -- but nonetheless saved all three break points against her, and converted her first match point as Cirstea sent a forehand long.

Swiatek advanced to her 13th quarterfinal in 15 tournaments this year (excluding team competitions). She will next face a fellow major champion -- either No. 8 seed Emma Raducanu or Barbora Krejcikova  

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Iga Swiatek falls short of U.S. Open semis as Anisimova avenges Wimbledon title demolition

 

NEW YORK -- After her fourth-round win over Beatriz Haddad Maia on Labor Day, Amanda Anisimova said in her on-court interview that she had hoped for a bit more love from the New York crowd.

She got it in spades on Wednesday. With the fans firmly in her corner in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the American knocked off six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-3 to reach her first US Open semifinal.

Playing for the first time since Swiatek's 6-0, 6-0 trouncing in the Wimbledon final, they traded breaks to start the match and held to 4-4 after Swiatek forced deuce on an incredible 17-shot rally in the eighth game and took the next two points. Anisimova held in her next game and, on her second set point, a Swiatek forehand sailed long to give the New Jersey native her second break and the set.

The Wimbledon champion jumped out to a quick start in the second set, breaking and consolidating for a 2-0 lead, but with the crowd rallying her on — chants of "We love you Amanda" were consistent all afternoon — the eighth seed took the next three games and the lead. Swiatek held to even it, but that would be her final game of the afternoon.

Anisimova held for 4-3 with the assistance of a net cord, and then broke for 5-3 on a Swiatek double fault. Serving for a spot in the semis, with three match points to play with, Anisimova lost the next two points -- including one on a double fault -- before finishing off her opponent with another ball that hit the net and died before Swiatek could push it into play.

Anisimova finished with 23 winners to Swiatek's 13 and converted four of nine break points. The World No. 2 had just four break point opportunities and converted two of them.

"Today was definitely different than any other match here, or that I've played ever, because of the circumstances," Anisimova said after the match. "But yeah, I think that I was really trying to go in with the right mindset, especially the last 24 hours, really preparing myself more mentally than physically for today. I'm really pleased with the way I was able to go into it and perform."

Despite the lopsided win at Wimbledon, Swiatek knew her opponent would come ready to play and would be anything but an easy out.

"I think everybody knows how Amanda can play," the Polish 24-year-old said. "Yeah, she didn't play well in Wimbledon, but it's not like she's always going to do the same mistakes or feel the same. I know that she's a good player. She can play great tennis. So for me, I was ready for a tough match.

"It's not a surprise. I practice with her. I know how she can play. It was totally different. She moved better, she played better. Yeah, everything was different."

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Well she fell short again, but it was a wonderful run especially given the fact that she later revealed on Instagram she's been having a foot issue the entire tournament (I'm sure all those mixed doubles matches with Casper didn't help).

I saw a photo on social media that surfaced during the tournament of a practice session with Iga's foot being heavily bandaged and her wincing in pain. She kept it hush hush so I doubt too many people knew till her post after the loss today. 

She didn't even say anything about not being able to practice much, nor about the foot itself in her post match press conferences.  

So given all that it's quite amazing she made it as far as she did. 

A foot issue would definitely make it difficult to serve which explains the fluctuations of it match to match (and especially today). 

Nevertheless she soldiered on. 

As great champions always do. 

Sad for the loss but happy she'll be able to rest and rehab that foot properly now before heading off to Asia (I'm kind of hoping she skips Seoul and starts off in Beijing).

Fingers crossed the foot doesn't become a bigger issue for the remainder of this season.

Thank you for an amazing summer of tennis Iga, the Wimbledon win will remain one of the sweetest memories of this year.

See you in the fall champ.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek back in U.S. Open quarterfinals

Seconds after wrapping up a 6-3, 6-1 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the US Open fourth round, Iga Swiatek was on her phone.

Not to check for the latest Taylor Swift updates, as she had been a few days previously, but to get some more hitting time after a one-sided rout that had flashed by in just 64 minutes.

"I asked [my coach] to book 10 minutes of practice court, if it's possible," No. 2 seed Swiatek admitted in her on-court interview with a laugh.

The matchup had, on paper, been a potentially tricky one. Coming into it, Swiatek led the pair's head-to-head 4-2 -- but on outdoor hard courts, Alexandrova held a 2-1 advantage with wins at the Gippsland Trophy 2021 and Miami 2024. Moreover, the 30-year-old has reached a career high of No. 12 after making the Monterrey final last week, and conceded just 10 games over three matches to get to the last 16.

Swiatek has been enjoying a summer surge, claiming the Wimbledon and Cincinnati titles this year -- she has now won 18 of her past 19 matches -- but the first week in New York had not been smooth sailing for the Pole. In the second round, she was stretched to three sets by Suzan Lamens and in the third had to overturn a 5-1 first-set deficit to beat No. 29 seed Anna Kalinskaya. 

Alexandrova has enjoyed a career-best Grand Slam season, making the last 16 at each of the last three majors, but has yet to advance to the quarterfinal stage at this level. Swiatek, too, has put together her most consistent year at the Grand Slams to date, having now reached at least the quarterfinals at each major. The 24-year-old is the youngest player to achieve that feat since an 18-year-old Maria Sharapova in 2005.

Overall, Swiatek has now reached 13 Grand Slam quarterfinals. Among active players, only Venus Williams (39), Victoria Azarenka (18) and Aryna Sabalenka (14) have made more; Swiatek has tied the total of Elina Svitolina and the freshly-retired Petra Kvitova. 

She will next face No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova, who raced past No. 18 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-0, 6-3 in just 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

It will be a rematch of July's Wimbledon final, in which Swiatek whitewashed Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to claim her sixth Grand Slam title.

'Intensity and focus': Unlike her previous two matches, Swiatek barely put a foot wrong as she dismantled Alexandrova with 21 winners, including seven aces, to just 13 unforced errors. It wasn't surprising that, afterwards, she said she was happiest with the "intensity and focus" she had managed to maintain.

"I felt like I'm really in my bubble, in the zone," she continued. "Sometimes I was making risky decisions, and I think I forced the ball to go in."

Swiatek's redirected backhand down the line was responsible for a slew of highlights, and she dropped serve just once -- in the second game of the match, thanks to a pair of double faults.

Alexandrova, on the other hand, was unable to deliver the blistering power game that has seen her notch 38 match wins this year. Despite holding her own through the first six games, facing a break point at 3-3 in the first set Alexandrova tapped a sitter forehand into the net with the court wide open. Two games later, she conceded the first set with consecutive double faults and another netted drop shot. She won just one more game in the match, double faulting again to go down 5-1 in the second set.

In the final game, Swiatek withstood a handful of fiery returns from Alexandrova to save three break points and convert her first match point with another backhand winner down the line.

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Best match Iga has played all tournament everything worked as she said she was in the zone or bubble as she called it. 

When she's in full flow like this it is an absolute joy to witness. 

Going from one of her worst matches in the last round to one of her best in a span of 2 days is what makes Iga such a great champion. 

I think the day conditions vs night played a big part in it as well. She just really doesn't like playing at night and always plays better early in day.