Iga Swiatek battles past Kasatkina to make another Doha Quarterfinal

 

Top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland advanced to the quarterfinals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open with a three-set win over Australia's Daria Kasatkina on Wednesday in Doha.

Swiatek had not lost more than three games in a set against Kasatkina in their previous six meetings on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz and looked set to continue that streak as she built a 5-3 lead in the opening set. But Kasatkina, a former world No. 8, rallied to win the next four games and take the set 7-5.

The Pole responded by winning the next two sets for the loss of just two games to complete a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory in 2 hours, 17 minutes. She improves to 7-1 lifetime against Kasatkina.

Swiatek converted eight of 18 break points (44.4%), while the Australian converted four of 12 (33.3%). Kasatkina also struggled on her second serve, winning 24.1% of second-serve points (7 of 29).

"It wasn't an easy match," she said to press. "Even in second and third set I had to do a lot to win rallies against Daria. I think I gave her more chances. She used the slower surface here, and she was going for it more, compared to last matches.

"I felt like I could do sometimes more in the first set. Yeah, didn't really adjust well to the colder conditions and the wind. For sure it's a lesson for next days."

Swiatek, who won the title in Doha three consecutive years from 2022-24, is through to the quarterfinals here for the fifth time in her career. Only Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska have reached the quarterfinals in Doha more often, with six each.

Swiatek will next face former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari, who beat France’s Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-0 to reach the last eight.

Sakkari has now won three consecutive WTA main-draw matches for the first time since reaching the round of 16 in Madrid last year and for the first time on hard court since reaching the Indian Wells final two years ago.

Sakkari won the first three meetings between the pair, all in straight sets in 2021. Swiatek has since won their next four meetings, also all in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-2 win in the second round here last year.

“Iga is very solid but at the same time, she's very aggressive,” Sakkari said after her win vs. Gracheva. “She moves the ball really well. She moves very good on the court. She doesn't give you a lot of errors. So it's going to be a huge challenge for me. When we played last year here, it was an easy score but it wasn't an easy match, I have to say.”

Likewise, Swiatek is also prepared, heading into the match with a with four straight wins against Sakkari.

"Overall I think my level improved in 2022 so I could do a bit more, had more variety, and could push a little bit more," Swiatek said. "But against Maria, it's always tough. It's always like every game matters, every point matters."

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1 - Iga Swiatek now has reached the quarterfinals in 61.9% (26/42) of the WTA-1000 events she has appeared in, surpassing Serena Williams (61.2%, 30/49) for the best since the format introduction in 2009. Stunning.


5 - Iga Swiatek is only the second player to reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open in five consecutive years after Agnieszka Radwanska between 2012-16. Victory.

Iga Swiatek opens Doha campaign with confident win

Top-seeded Iga Swiatek scored a comfortable straight-sets win over Indonesian wild card Janice Tjen to reach the third round of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha on Tuesday.

Playing her first match since a quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open, Swiatek dominated the opening set, dropping just eight points in a 6-0 win.

The second set was more competitive as Tjen displayed the form that has seen her rise from outside the top 400 at the start of the 2025 season to her current ranking of No. 46 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. After the players traded early breaks, Swiatek broke in the eighth game and held to close out a 6-0, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 9 minutes.

23: Swiatek improved to 23 career match-wins combined in Doha and Dubai. Only former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has more (25) since the WTA 1000 format was introduced in 2009.

31: Swiatek has won 31 consecutive WTA-level matches against players ranked outside the top 20. Her last loss to a player outside the top 20 came in Rome last May, when she fell to Danielle Collins in the round of 32.

32: Swiatek extended her streak of consecutive opening-match wins at WTA 1000 events to 32. Her last opening-match loss at a WTA 1000 came in Cincinnati in 2021 against Ons Jabeur

36: Swiatek recorded her 36th 6-0 set at WTA 1000 events, the most by any player since the format’s introduction in 2009. When asked if she ever thought about giving away a game to her opponents when it comes to such situations, Swiatek responded, "I think when I was younger, I felt that way, but later on, you just want to win it. It's sports. It doesn't make sense to stop or to play 80%. I'm there to perform my best, so I felt always that you wouldn't be respectful towards the opponent if give them something, because we're here to play our best. I always try to just focus on myself and that's it."

72: Swiatek is now 72-0 in opening matches across her last 72 WTA events played, including the United Cup and WTA Finals. Her last opening match loss at a WTA event came against Maria Sakkari at the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

"It's always nice to start a tournament in a solid way and I'm ready for every match," Swiatek said when asked about this streak by the media in Doha. "I think that's the reason for that. I don't take anything for granted, so even first rounds or second rounds, I treat them as super important matches and as a challenge. So I'm ready for it from the beginning."

Swiatek will next face former top-10 player Daria Kasatkina in the Round of 16. The Australian scored a 6-4, 6-0 win over 16h seed Elise Mertens of Belgium earlier in the day.

Swiatek leads the head-to-head 6-1 over Kasatkina and has won their last six meetings without dropping a set. But she is not taking the match lightly.

"Honestly I try not to think about head-to-head because every match is a different story," Swiatek said. "She can come to the match feeling that she has nothing to lose. There are different ways the match can go, and I wouldn't say that focusing on the last results gives a lot. I'd rather stay ready for the challenge and not really think about the previous ones."

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Iga Swiatek Doha 2026 photoshoot