Iga Swiatek gets revenge on Sakkari reaches another round of 16 at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS -- It’s a long, long way from Warsaw, Poland -- closing in on 6,000 miles -- but Iga Swiatek can’t help but feel at home here in the desert.

The relatively slow hard courts and higher bounces suit her game and discerning eye. The warm vibe seems to be a good fit with her relatively chill personality. As a result, Swiatek has now produced a sterling record of 24-3 (.889) at the BNP Paribas Open and made at least the semifinals each of the past four years, including two titles.

She’d love to make it three-out-of-five.

On Monday evening, it was a routine 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari, who had beaten Swiatek just last month in the Doha quarterfinals. Swiatek now holds a 5-4 head-to-head career edge.

“We played two finals here, so it’s funny [to see] us playing two years later in third round,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “So for sure it wasn’t an easy match. I’m really happy with the result.”

Sakkari and Swiatek came to this match riding vastly different trajectories. Swiatek was ranked No. 2 when Ashleigh Barty retired before the Miami Open in 2022 and was elevated to No. 1. For the duration of those nearly four years, Swiatek has held one of the top two positions in the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz rankings.

That same year, 2022, Sakkari rose to a career high of No. 3 on the strength of four final appearances, including Indian Wells. She would finish among the year-end Top 10 for three straight years, but in 2024 her ranking declined to No. 32 and, in 2025, No. 52.

Coming in, though, Sakkari had been efficient, winning all her service games and saving six-of-six break points. She started that way against Swiatek, converting her fourth break point in the opening game and executing a lengthy hold for a 2-0 lead.

And then Swiatek ramped up her forehand through the breezy conditions and won six of the last seven games.

The second set was more of the same, with Swiatek breaking Sakkari’s serve three times. One last backhand from Sakkari drifted long and Swiatek raised her fist as she strode to net.

Swiatek broke Sakkari five times in all and saved six of eight break points against her.

Thus, Swiatek is the first woman to advance to the Round of 16 for six consecutive years at Indian Wells since Agnieszka Radwanska and Carolina Wozniacki between 2008-2014. Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek (129-31, .806) trails only Serena Williams (148-28, .841) for winning percentage at WTA-1000 events -- minimum 10 matches.

In Swiatek’s past 34 matches against opponents ranked outside the Top 20, she had just one loss -- against Sakkari in Doha -- and now that defeat has been avenged.

Swiatek said she went to school on that loss to Sakkari in Doha.

“I think I adjusted better to the shorter balls than I did in Doha,” Swiatek said afterward. “I remember it was quite annoying there making mistakes from these balls. I also understood the wind a bit better.

“I think I served better, maybe. The return was also, like, on point. I remember in Doha mishitting and not hitting clean sometimes. Today I could really feel free to push Maria. Yeah, I just had good timing, I would say.”

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4465336/swiatek-finds-her-range-to-halt-sakkaris-momentum-in-indian-wells

Welcome back Iga Swiatek by far the best match all season. 

Kept her focus all the way through and showed great numbers on serve. 

May this be the start of  even better things to come. 

Definitely trending in the right direction. 

And getting revenge over Sakkari for Doha?. 

Bonus. 

Guess she really did know exactly what she did wrong in Doha, because she certainly rectified it here.

Well done Iga, hats off.

Muchova next definitely won't be easy she never is, but I hope they both bring a good level and make it really good contest. 

They did practice together before the start of the tournament and Iga like all of us enjoys watching Muchova play. Who wouldn't.

Jazda!

42 - At WTA-1000 events, Iga Swiatek has claimed a 42nd career win over a WTA-1000 champion, surpassing Victoria Azarenka (41) for the outright most of any player since the format's introduction in 2009. Trounce.

Iga Swiatek back to winning ways in the desert at Indian Wells

 

INDIAN WELLS -- It took Iga Swiatek all of five minutes -- suffering back-to-back double faults in the process -- to find her bearings at the BNP Paribas Open.

After holding serve to open her match against qualifier Kayla Day, Swiatek smashed three monstrous forehand winners through the stout desert wind in the second game and was on her way to a roundabout 6-0, 7-6 (2) second-round victory.

Swiatek is a notoriously fast starter in these WTA 1000 events; she’s now won a staggering 33 straight opening matches, and 73 straight in all WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz events.

The champion here in 2022 and 2024, Swiatek is looking for a third title in this even-numbered year.

“First set showed me exactly how to play, but I just didn't do that at the beginning of the second, so I knew that I can get back to that and turn things around,” Swiatek said afterward. “That I can and to be intense but more precise with my footwork and put pressure on my opponent.”

On Monday, Swiatek faces off against old nemesis Maria Sakkari, earlier a 7-5, 6-0 winner over wild card Lilli Tagger. The head-to-head couldn’t be closer, at 4-all.

But while Swiatek won both previous matches at Indian Wells in straight sets (2022 and 2024), it was Sakkari emerging triumphant just last month in the Doha quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. After winning all 109 WTA 1000 matches in which she won the opening set, Swiatek lost for the very first time.

Sakkari has been resurgent of late, after finishing in the year-end Top 10 from 2021-23.

This was the first meeting between Swiatek and Day, the California left-hander who navigated her way through qualifying and was trying to match her best effort at Indian Wells, a third-round berth nine years ago at the age of 17.

Day began the year at No. 256 in the PIF WTA Rankings, but arrived at Indian Wells at No. 187 after winning a pair of ITF tournaments, in Martinique, France and Orlando, Florida.

While the first set was a shutout, Day came back in the second, converting her third break point in the opening game and back it up with her first hold of the match. Swiatek came perilously close to falling behind 3-0, but saved three break points at love-40.

In her next service game, Swiatek again fell into a love-40 hole -- and saved all three break opportunities for Day. But this time, Swiatek did not escape. A double fault at deuce and a down-the-line backhand pass gave Day a 4-1 lead.

It was 5-1, when Day may have begun to contemplate the gravity of what was at hand. After all, her biggest complete career win, rankings-wise, came a decade ago in New Haven qualifying when she best No. 68 Kirsten Flipkens. Here she came within two points of leveling her match against the World No. 2.

Swiatek mounted a serious rally, winning five straight games to take a 6-5 lead but Day managed to send it to a tiebreak. Swiatek was nearly as perfect as she was in the first set, sprinting out to a 5-0 lead and winning seven of nine points.

Break points, as usual, told the story. Swiatek was 5-for-5, while Day converted only two of 13. Swiatek finished with seven double faults.

“I think for sure I drifted off a little bit for some games, and then I became tight because of that,” Swiatek said. “For sure I needed to get back to my first-set game. I feel like I did that quite well. Yeah, I played with much more spin, confidence, and that's why I could win these [six] games in a row and get back to the match."

That first-set shutout, achieved in 28 minutes, was Swiatek’s 36th in a WTA 1000, behind only Martina Hingis (52), Serena Williams (50), Conchita Martinez (40) and Victoria Azarenka(37).

Swiatek owns a 23-3 (.885) record in the desert, creeping ever closer to Steffi Graf’s standard of 17-2, (.895). Only Victorias Azarenka (35) has more main-draw singles match-wins at Indian Wells.

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4464297/swiatek-rolls-early-regroups-late-and-sets-up-indian-wells-rematch-with-sakkari

While the second set lapses continue to be a worry it's actually quite impressive how she was able to comeback from 1/5 30 all down.

Honestly it's just good to have Iga Swiatek back on court (even if she is suffering from a bit of a cold).

From 5-1 down in the 2nd set, Iga makes an impressive comeback to win in straight sets and extend her perfect record to 88-0 when winning a set 6-0 in her career.

33 - Iga Swiatek has claimed a 33rd consecutive opening match win at WTA-1000 events - it is the longest such streak of any player since the format's introduction in 2009. Start.

11 - Iga Swiatek has won 11.0% of her total career sets at WTA-1000 events by a score of 6-0 - since the Tier format's introduction in 1990, only Gabriela Sabatini (12.9%) holds a higher rate at Tier I/WTA-1000 events.

Iga Swiatek withdrawals from Dubai Open

The top two-ranked WTA players have pulled out of the upcoming Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek have both withdrawn from the upcoming WTA Masters 1000 event.

Reem Abulleil was the first to report this news. The decision surprised tennis fans and media alike as everyone expected both players to compete. Below is each player's statement and what it means for their schedules going forward.

Swiatek's statement read, "I am sorry to announce that I will not be playing Dubai this year due to a change of schedule. I hope I will come back next year to experience the great tournament. See you guys in Indian Wells."

Sabalenka's statement read, "I'm really sorry I have to withdraw from Dubai. I have such a special connection with the tournament, the fans, and the city. Unfortunately, I am not feeling 100%. But I hope to be back next year and wish the tournament a great event."

Swiatek suffered a surprising quarterfinal loss to Maria Sakkari in the Qatar Open earlier this week. Meanwhile, Sabalenka has not played since her Australian Open final loss to Elena Rybakina on January 31.

As Swiatek mentioned in her statement, her next tournament will be the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The outdoor hard-court tournament is a Masters 1000 event on the ATP and WTA tours. The iconic event runs from March 4-15, 2026.

However, Sabalenka did not mention when she would return to action. It is possible that she returns for Indian Wells as well. Currently, Sabalenka has a singles record of 11-1 and with one title. Swiatek has a singles record of 7-3 with zero titles.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships run from Feb. 15-21. The hard-court outdoor tournament has a grand prize payout of $4,088,211. Last year, Mirra Andreeva won the Masters 1000 event as part of her breakout spring on the WTA Tour.

si.com

I said in my last post I'd be surprised if Iga withdrew from Dubai, well I'm definitely surprised but pleasantly so. 

She's actually sticking to her earlier statements at the start of the year about not playing all the WTA 1000s glad to see her prioritizing herself instead of chasing points. 

Point chasing makes no sense as it doesn't allow any player to work on their game in order to improve as I mentioned in my last post it's incredibly hard to do while constantly on tour aka the hamster wheel. 

Players don't get to rest properly either with the current crazy packed schedule. 

So good for Iga for finally realizing that. It'll be better for the longevity of her career.

I hope she and Sabalenka do this more often, maybe it'll force the establishment to care about their players well being and they'll start prioritizing that instead of money and an overblown calendar.

If you want your top players to play make a better schedule otherwise you'll always have a depleted field.

No star players, no money simple as that.

Saba has never really liked or had success in the Middle East so her withdrawal is less of a surprise, but this double withdrawal might make the establishment think just a little more.

Might be really good for Iga mentally as well. 

Hasn't been home since Christmas so I'm sure it'll feel nice to decompress at home and actually have some time to properly train and work on things before the Sunshine Double Swing. 

Especially given both are 2 weeks long now. 

Rest up, recharge and see you in the desert Iga.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek ends Doha campaign in the quarters with loss to Sakkari

After an opening set in which Maria Sakkari absorbed the full brunt of Iga Swiatek’s dominance, it looked as if her own strong run in Doha was about to end.

Instead, the former World No. 3 flipped the match on its head. She was the better player in the second and third sets, rallying to post a stunning 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over the current World No. 2 in just about two and a half and hours. The win sends Sakkari into the Doha semifinals for the third time in her career and the first time in three years.

It also marked her first win over Swiatek in five years, snapping a four-match losing streak in their WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz head-to-head. With Thursday’s result, the series is now level at 4-4.

“I’m speechless because it’s been a while since I had a big win like today,” Sakkari said in her on-court interview. “When you drop in the rankings and you’re not playing good tennis, you start doubting yourself. And you’re thinking that you’re never going to beat those players again.

“So it’s a huge process that you have to go through in your head, that you know you can do it. Last year in the second round here against (Swiatek), I was not confident. I was not believing in myself. And this year, it’s different. I feel quite a lot better.”

It’s her first win over a Top 5 player since she defeated Coco Gauff in Miami 2024. More importantly, it extends a week in which Sakkari has seemingly rediscovered the level that once carried her into and kept her inside the Top 10 for the better part of three years.

She opened the tournament with three consecutive straight-set victories over Zeynep Sonmez, No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini and Varvara Gracheva en route to the quarterfinals before toppling Swiatek. In doing so, she dethroned the Doha queen, handing Swiatek just her third loss in 21 matches at the event in a thrilling bit of theater that unfolded over three acts.

Act 1: Same old Iga

As is often the case when Swiatek steps on court, she entered as a heavy favorite. She had beaten Sakkari four straight time -- all in straight sets -- and was coming off a Round of 16 win in which she shook off a slow start against Daria Kasatkina before dominating the final two sets, dropping just two games between them.

She continued that momentum into Thursday’s opening set. After breaking for a 3-2 lead with a forehand winner, she reeled off four straight games to take the set in just 33 minutes. It was the result of quintessential Swiatek efficiency: she won 13 of 14 first-serve points, claimed nearly half the points on return and converted both break points she earned.

Act 2: Sakkari strikes back

But Sakkari refused to fold. She surged ahead 3-0 and then 4-1 in the second set, leaning heavily on her backhand -- a weapon that would serve her well again later.

Swiatek responded by winning three straight games, punctuated by a hold to love to level at 4-all. She then earned two break points that, if converted, would’ve allowed her to serve for the match, but Sakkari saved both. She cemented the hold with a forehand winner followed by an on-target body serve on game point.

Sakkari then broke Swiatek with ease in the next game to take the second set and force a decider, marking the first time the pair had ever gone the distance in eight meetings

Act 3: Return of Sakkari

The final set delivered the evening’s peak drama. After Swiatek recovered from 0-30 to hold for 1-1, Sakkari struck first two games later, breaking for a 3-1 lead. It sparked a run of three straight breaks before Sakkari became the first to consolidate, racing ahead 5-2 to move within a game of victory.

She opened the game with a forehand winner, but Swiatek again applied pressure, earning two break points. Sakkari saved the second with a brilliant backhand pass, her first point won on second serve in the decider after starting 0-for- 5.

Swiatek mounted one last push, mirroring the one she made in the second set, and won three straight games. She held for 5-3, then broke Sakkari as she was serving for the match in a game that included a tense video review of a possible double bounce. The call eventually went Sakkari’s way, but Swiatek secured the break a few points later anyway. She then saved a match point with her best serve of the day -- an ace out wide --and held once more to level at 5-5.

But as she had shown all week, Sakkari was undeterred. She halted Swiatek's run with a hold to love for 6-5, then converted her third match point when Swiatek missed a brutal volley at the net, sealing one of the biggest wins of her career.

With the victory, Sakkari became the first player to defeat Swiatek in a WTA 1000 match after losing the opening set, dropping Swiatek’s record in such matches to 109-1. She also reached her 11th career WTA 100 semifinal, and her first since she reached the final at Indian Wells in 2024. It’s her first tour-level semifinal of any kind since Charleston 2024.

She’ll face Karolina Muchova, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4 Thursday, for a spot in her first final in two years -- the last coming at Indian Wells. Sakkari is 0-4 against Muchova at the WTA level, though she does own a win over the Czech from an ITF event in Sharm El Sheikh in 2016.


"I'm really happy I was able to turn that second set," Muchova said to WTA Media. "I got that break back and was able to finish in two because it's very late and tomorrow's another match.

"I watched (Sakkari's) match today against Iga, and they both played incredible. It's going to be a tough one but very happy to be in the semis".

wtatennis.com

Seems like the 2nd set concentration issues continue to be a concern for Iga. Part of that might be that she has lost a lot of her locker room aura over the past couple of years (especially after losing at Roland Garros last year and not winning a title on the clay). 

She got it back at Wimbledon a little, but not quite on the hard courts. 

So because her aura eroded somewhat all players have more belief that if they hang around and fight even after losing the first set they can beat Iga. 

Hopefully Iga can find that mental toughness and concentration back which will in turn help get her front runner confidence back so she can close matches in straights. 

I'm staying positive that she'll rediscover it again before this hard court swing is through, I'll only slightly panic if she doesn't find it on the clay in April. 

Despite this loss it was nice to see her being brave and using variety with slices, dropshots and coming to the net. It's the kind of variety she had pre-Wiktorowski before she was even a top ten household name. 

So really encouraging in that respect, you can see she's putting in the work it just hasn't quite clicked yet. 

Contrary to what internet couch experts think it's going to take time, whether it's the serve (which is everyone's chief complaint) or anything else in her game.

Of course it's extremely hard to find time to work on improving anything while on tour so I'm still very much curious to see which tournaments Iga decides to skip. 

Something tells me it won't be Dubai next week, simply because Rybakina is so close to Iga in ranking points that she might want to at least give herself a chance to defend them (I believe she reached the quarters last year). 

Hell Rybakina almost became #2 today but but a defeat to young Canadian Vicky Mboko helped to delay that for the moment. 

As I said during Aussie Open my best bet would be on Iga skipping Miami or possibly Indian Wells (though she has semi final points to defend). Miami would give her more time to prepare for the clay so it'd make more sense (though she's got quarterfinal points to defend as well).

Tough choice indeed, but I really hope she makes one here. It would really benefit her in the long run this year I think.

Believe in the process Iga, see you in the next tournament (where ever that will be). 

Jazda!

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."

wtatennis.com

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."

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek Doha 2026 photoshoot