Iga Swiatek fights, but falls short of the final in Rome

 

Well, what can I say about this match, I think it's best I start with the fact it was played late at night after 10pm and went way past midnight. 

Conditions were, cold, slow and damp (with rain earlier in the day). Not ideal for someone like Iga who relies on the spin on her shots especially her forehand. 

Night conditions rendered it a bit irrelevant allowing a scrapper like Svitolina to keep getting one more shot back (with balls which were undoubtedly more heavy). 

It's no secret that Iga hates playing at night so the tournament didn't do her any favours there (and as her fan and a fan of the sport in general I reserve the right to be mad about that for a while). 

Why are we still making players play after 11pm.

 Just why?. 

No other sport in the world does this it is dangerous, dumb and completely unnecessary. 

Especially when you consider this tournament is 12 days long with breaks in between and a first week where the top 10 don't even play.

It's not like we couldn't have had both the women and men's final on the same day. Indian Wells does it and it's fantastic.

No instead we have this shit show where even yesterday a men's match went on until 2am. 

Beyond ludicrous.

Despite this loss I'm proud of Iga for her attitude on court, she dealt well with having to play in conditions that were more suited to her opponent. She corrected the mistakes in the 2nd set and got it into a 3rd. 

Maybe got a bit impatient and overhit in the final set but it's understandable with how well Svitolina was retrieving that coupled with the fact she's probably used to sleeping at the time they were playing and patient point construction went out the window. 

She still tried and fought. 

It doesn't take away from how well she was playing this tournament, finally broke the quarterfinal and top 10 loss curse. It's the best she has played in months. 

Positives all around in that respect. 

Feeling real encouraged for Roland Garros with this run in Rome. 

Sure there may still be some work to do but this is a huge step forward. It's hard to get that confidence and self assuredness when you haven't been at the tail end of tournaments for a while.

She's still lacking the clutch factor on big points so not quite back to her old self just yet. 

But it was very clear here in Rome that if there's a chance of getting that back for Iga it's on the clay.

Part of me will always think what could have been had they played in the day with the sun out instead. 

Because I knew Svitolina would be tough either way, but things swung in her favor even more as soon as it became a night session. 

The first game of the 3rd set where Iga had break points and didn't take them decided the match.

Regardless it was a great run and I hope Iga is proud and keeps her head high. 

All that training is definitely  paying off.

On to Paris we go.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek makes first semis of the season in Rome

It has been an underwhelming season by Iga Swiatek’s standards. She briefly fell to No. 4 in the rankings last month, failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals of a WTA event outside team competitions and changed coaches three months into the season. But with Roland Garros approaching, she appears to be finding her form again.

On Wednesday, the fourth seed delivered one of her most impressive performances of the season on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, defeating No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 in one hour, seven minutes to advance to the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. She will face either second seed Elena Rybakina or No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina next.


"For sure I'm really happy with the match," Swiatek told the media after her win. "From the beginning I felt like I can dictate. Tactically everything made sense as well. I was feeling the ball really well. I just used my chance and was pretty confident."

Here are some key takeaways from Swiatek’s victory:

Swiatek did not face a single break point on serve during the match. She landed 77.8% of her first serves and won 77.1% of first-serve points and 60% of second-serve points.

By comparison, Pegula landed 64.4% of her first serves, winning 62.1% of first-serve points and just 12.5% of second-serve points.

"Honestly, I feel on clay that there is not so much pressure on the serve because it's not so easy to get free points," the Pole responded when told about the stat in her post-match press conference. "I know I have a really great baseline game, so even if my serve is going to be kind of normal and not do a lot, I know it's still in my hands what to happen with the point. I don't think it's that much important. For sure, the placement is more important than the speed here because the ball will bounce pretty high anyway, even when you serve like 180. It's good to already, like, open up the court if you can with the serve."

The victory over the fifth-ranked Pegula marked Swiatek’s first win over a top-10 opponent this season. She had lost her previous six matches against top-10 players, including four in 2026, marking the longest such losing streak of her career.

Despite that run, Swiatek still owns one of the strongest records against elite opponents on tour. Since making her debut in 2019, she has recorded 54 wins over top-10 players, two more than current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka

Swiatek improved to 7-5 overall against Pegula and 2-0 against the American on clay.

Six of Swiatek’s seven wins over Pegula have come in straight sets, while three of Pegula’s five victories have also been in straight sets.

With the win, Swiatek improved to 25-3 in her career in Rome, which she has won on three occasions. In the Open Era, only Chris Evert, Conchita Martinez and Gabriela Sabatini reached 25 Rome wins in fewer matches, with each doing so in 27 matches.

Among players with at least 10 matches played in Rome during the Open Era, only Chris Evert owns a better winning percentage than Swiatek. Evert posted a 92.3% win rate, while Swiatek now stands at 89.3%.

"The goal was to play as many matches as possible," she said of her week in Rome. "I'm really happy that I just have opportunity to do that because I felt like I didn't play a lot at all, comparing to last season. I'm happy that I can spend some time on the court and play really solid matches against the best girls. For sure it's giving me confidence because you can practice as much as possible, but if you don't test it out on the court, play matches and face pressure or something, you're going to still feel the little bit rusty when it comes. I'll play hopefully two more here."

Swiatek holds a 6-6 career record against Rybakina and a 4-2 edge against Svitolina.

However, she lost her most recent meeting against both players - falling to Rybakina in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January and to Svitolina in the Indian Wells quarterfinals in March.

wtatennis.com

Another superb performance from Iga from start to finish. 

A statement win. 

Looking more and more like vintage Iga in Rome. 

Feels like it's been a long time coming.

Slowly but surely things really are starting to click, and it makes me so happy to able to say that. 

I was worried Pegula's flat strokes would give Iga trouble, but they don't have as much effect on clay especially when Iga's forehand and spin come into play.

As I said in my last post when Iga's game flows even her serve improves (almost 80percent in today) that's about as good as it gets.

Huge strides were made today by winning against #5 Pegula, Iga broke 6 straight losses to top ten opponents, and 4 straight losses in the quarters. 

Her level is rising and things are looking up.

Svitolina or Rybakina next both would be tough. 

Svitolina is a fighter so it'd prepare her for Gauff were they to play in the final.

Rybakina of course has the big serve and confidence winning a lot of matches this year. But Iga did beat her at Roland Garros last year. And the last time they played in Rome Iga retired at one set all due to a rib issue. 

So I always take Rybakina's lone win in Rome with a grain of salt or asterisk I guess. I'll always wonder what would have been had Iga not retired.

When Iga plays well on clay she is still superior to Rybakina serve and all.

It certainly won't be easy, but it'd be a great litmus test before Roland Garros as well.

First semis of the year tomorrow.

Jazda!.

22 - Iga Swiatek is now the currently active player (among those appearing on Tour this season) with the most WTA-1000 semi-finals (22), surpassing Aryna Sabalenka (21). Jump.

25 - Iga Swiatek has claimed her 25th win in Rome after 28 matches played at the event - in the Open Era, only Chris Evert, Conchita Martinez and Gabriela Sabatini (27 each) have played less to reach this milestone. Home.

50 - Iga Swiatek has played today her 50th WTA-1000 clay court match (43-7): since the format’s introduction in 2009, only Serena Williams (44) had more wins after her first 50 matches on the surface in such events. Queen.

Iga Swiatek puts on her best performance in Rome to get back into a 5th quarterfinal

 

Iga Swiatek handily defeated Naomi Osaka in a battle of Grand Slam champions Monday, dropping just three games in a 6-2, 6-1 victory that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach the Rome quarterfinals for the fifth time. 

Awaiting her there is Jessica Pegula, who took the scenic route at times in her straight-sets win over Anastasia Potapova but still crossed the finish line after 1 hour and 38 minutes, winning 7-6 (6), 6-2 to reach the last eight for the first time since 2021 and the second time in her career.

Swiatek improved to 3-1 against Osaka at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level, winning each of their past three meetings. This may have been her most impressive of the bunch, as she took control early and never truly relinquished it. Long regarded as one of the sport's best front-runners, she looked the part in what began as a highly anticipated showdown but quickly became a showcase of her talent.

Meanwhile, Pegula extended her perfect record against Potapova to 6-0. Pegula has now reached seven quarterfinals this season, tied with Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina for the most on tour. Swiatek follows closely behind with five.

There were flashes of brilliance from Osaka, but they were too few and far between to make it competitive against Swiatek, who spent the evening operating at near-peak efficiency.

After exchanging breaks early, Swiatek broke again for a 3-2 lead behind a trio of winners. It was the first of four straight games won by the six-time Grand Slam champion to close out an opening set shaped largely by Osaka's 20 unforced errors. The second set, however, was all Swiatek.

She finished it with 15 winners to just six unforced errors, though even those numbers undersell her performance. Swiatek struck a forehand winner to set up a break point in the opening game, which she converted for a 1-0 lead. What followed was:Swiatek forehand winner to seal the hold for 2-0
Osaka hold after saving a break point
Swiatek forehand winner to seal the hold for 3-1
Swiatek backhand return winner to set up triple break point, breaks for 4-1
Swiatek ace to seal the hold for 5-1

For good measure, she finished the match with a final backhand winner to close out about as dominant a victory one can have over a player of Osaka's caliber. Swiatek totaled 23 winners to 18 unforced errors and delivered a clean day on serve, landing 67% of her first serves and winning 68% of those points, while taking 67% of her second-serve points.

She is now 116-2 in completed WTA 1000 matches after claiming the first set, with 108 of those now coming in straight sets.

Swiatek and Pegula will meet for the 12th time on Wednesday in one of the more balanced rivalries on the WTA Tour. Swiatek leads the head-to-head 6-5 and won their lone clay-court meeting at Roland Garros in 2022, but Pegula will enter having won their last two matchups in straight sets.

For Swiatek, a win would send her to the Rome semifinals for the fourth time. History suggests that would bode well for her chances of winning her first title of the season, as each of the previous three times she reached the final four at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia she was crowned champion.

wtatennis.com

That was by far Iga's best performance of the season on any surface against a quality opponent. 

People said that about Cocciaretto yesterday, but Osaka's ball was far better quality (especially on serve) and Iga handled it superbly.

Naomi wasn't even playing badly but Iga just looked in another league. Her retrieval skills were on point. 

Earlier this year she talked about wanting to become a wall again on clay, safe to say she achieved that today. 

It was very much vintage Iga on clay showcasing once again why she's is a 6 time Grand Slam Champion and why she has won Roland Garros 4 times. 

For the first time since changing coaches Iga actually looked self assured and confident in her shots, and because of that her serve and the rest of her game just flowed.

It was also the 2nd time this year that she didn't let her lead slip in the 2nd set like she's been doing  for most of the season, but was her ruthless efficient self all the way through.  

It was an absolute pleasure to watch, like a breathe of fresh air.

It's early days but you can already tell Roig is a better fit coach wise than Wim Fisette. 

He was more into analytics, Roig seems more practical in terms of preparing for matches and actually give Iga a good game plan. 

With Wim she often looked lost when things weren't going well.

Roig and Iga seem to get along really well, and know what they want to achieve and how to go about it together (which is important). 

The way she and Wiktorowski used to do.

Speaking of Wiktoroski how great was it to see Iga play so well with Osaka's coach (her former coach) watching.

Must have felt great.

I said a few posts back that Caty McNally helped play Iga into form and I stand by that. 

This match could be the catalyst  that finally makes everything click again. 

Something Iga and all her fans have been waiting for. 

Pegula next which won't be easy given how flat she hits, but if Iga plays anything like today not even Pegula's style of play will stop her progress. 

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek sweeps past Cocciaretto, sets up a rematch with Naomi Osaka on clay in Rome

 

Iga Swiatek defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 in 65 minutes Sunday to reach the Rome fourth round for the fifth time. She joined No. 15 seed Naomi Osaka, who earlier in the day scored an equally dominant win over No. 19 seed Diana Shanider to advance to her third straight Round of 16 in Rome.

Osaka needed just 54 minutes to dispatch Shnaider, dropping only three games in a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

As a result, the two multi-time Grand Slam champions -- who account for 10 Major titles combined -- will meet in a marquee fourth-round matchup at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. It will be their fourth meeting at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and their first since 2024. Swiatek leads the head-to-head 2-1.

Their most recent clash was an instant classic: a second-round thriller at Roland Garros in which the then No. 1-ranked Swiatek outlasted Osaka 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 after saving a match point en route to a third straight French Open title.

The now-World No. 3 expects a similar challenge this time.

"She's a great player," Swiatek said in her on-court interview after beating Cocciaretto. "We've played a lot and (had) a really tough match at Roland Garros two years ago, so I know what she can bring and how well she can play when she feels the ball. So I'll prepare technically and I'll be ready."

If you're saying to yourself, "That scoreline looks familiar," you're right. Swiatek and Cocciaretto met for the first time last year in the second round in Rome, and Swiatek won handily, dropping just one game.

Sunday was a case of wash, rinse, repeat for the three-time Rome champion. She stormed out of the gates, breaking in the second game and again in the sixth to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Moments later, she closed the opening set the same way she started it -- with an ace.

Cocciaretto appeared on track to secure a rare hold while trailing 2-0 in the second set before a brief rain delay halted play for a few minutes. Swiatek won four straight points after play resumed, finishing the game with a forehand winner to break for 3-0.

Swiatek won the last nine games against a seemingly hampered Cocciaretto, who received a brief visit from the physio late in the first set. But regardless of Cocciaretto's condition, it was a much-needed show of dominance from Swiatek, whose focus throughout was on her execution.

"I just wanted to be solid and focus on myself no matter what the score was," Swiatek said. "Sometimes at the end of the match it's easy for the opponent to let go and just go for it. So I wanted to just play as I planned and how I played the whole match, and at the end it worked. I really liked how I played today. My serve was good, I was opening up the court, so it was really nice."

Cocciaretto did let go at the end, saving three match points and earning her first three break points in the final game, but Swiatek didn't waver. Instead, she converted her fourth match point to secure the win. Swiatek finished with 17 winners to 11 unforced errors and won 72% of her service points, a level she'll hope to carry into her meeting with Osaka.

If there was one word to describe Osaka's week, stunning might do the trick -- first at the Met Gala, and then on court, especially on Sunday. In what was perhaps her most complete performance of the 2026 season, Osaka dismantled Shnaider, who reached the Rome quarterfinals last year before falling to eventual champion Jasmine Paolini in three sets.

Like Swiatek, Osaka broke in the second game and again in the sixth for a 5-1 lead before taking the first set in 24 minutes. She continued to face little resistance in the second, unleashing a backhand winner from outside the court to help her break for 3-2, then breaking again in the penultimate game to more within one game of victory.

wtatennis.com

Finally today truly felt like vintage Iga (yes Cociaretto doesn't really have weapons to hurt her but still).

She kept her focus from start to finish even made sure not to get broken and punctuated it with a bagel.

That's the front runner mentality we're all familiar with. 

Feels like a breath of fresh air, even if it doesn't make for the most entertaining of matches.

I think Iga needed a win like today. 

Just to remind herself how well her game works on clay and how good she feels on it.

Beyond great to see.

Of course with this win she set up a rematch of sorts with Naomi Osaka on clay (when they met in round 2 of Roland Garros few years ago it was an instant classic) and one people talk about till this day.

Hard to say if this one will live up to it, but if they can bring at least half the level they showed in that match it'll be popcorn worthy.

And I for one can't wait.

The only thing that would make this better is if they were playing in a final instead of 4th round.

Win or lose I hope Iga takes some confidence from it in time for Roland Garros.

Excited would be an understatement. 

Is it tomorrow yet?.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek hangs tough in first match back in Rome

 

ROME -- No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek took the scenic route into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia third round, surviving a valiant comeback from Caty McNally to win 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in 2 hours, 43 minutes.

At 6-1, 3-1, the three-time Rome champion Swiatek appeared to be cruising through her opener. Her topspin was jumping off the court, she was striking a series of forehand winners, and she was breaking down McNally’s drive backhand in extended rallies. But she squandered three break points for a 4-1 lead with cheap unforced errors, and from that point on the match turned into a battle.

"For sure, not an easy first match," Swiatek said in her press conference. "The conditions were kind of heavy. The ball was flying slow. So we had many long rallies, many moments where you could create a lot on the court."

McNally -- the only player to win a set from Swiatek at Wimbledon last year -- had never beaten the Polish star at pro level. But she did have a memorable victory over Swiatek on clay -- a 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 comeback in the 2018 Roland Garros junior event. As McNally began to impose her touch on the match, she threatened a similar turnaround.

Swiatek served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set and reached 30-30 both times, only to lapse into errors, getting broken on backhands that sailed well over the baseline on each occasion. Afterwards, she vowed that those would be learning experiences.

"Honestly, I want to watch this game and see if there's something that I did wrong," she said when asked about her attempts to serve out the win. "I'm not sure even what I did ... I don't exactly remember what happened in that game. But I will watch the match. I'll watch it and I'll see."

As her accuracy wavered, McNally grew more effective at drawing mistakes from Swiatek with her defense. McNally’s slice had little impact through the first set and a half, but her ability to reset points with it became a key factor in turning the second set.

In the third set, it nearly unraveled again for Swiatek. She broke McNally for 3-1, but missed a chance to extend the lead to 4-1 with a double fault, then handed the break straight back with a string of errors.

But this time, Swiatek regained her focus. As McNally held a point to level at 4-4, Swiatek swatted away a return to deny her. Two dialed-in clean winners followed, and then the break for 5-3. There would be no repeat of her second-set travails. Solid offensive patterns brought Swiatek to match point, and she converted as McNally sent a forehand just wide.

"I was really happy with the first set, then I made some mistakes," said Swaitek. "Also Caty, I felt like she was playing one more ball in, really grinding in defense. I needed to be patient. I'm happy at the end of the match I was solid and I used the right balls to attack, but was also patient enough to stay in the rally."

Swiatek will next face either No. 28 seed Emma Navarro or home hope Elisabetta Cocciaretto

 wtatennis.com

Well this match turned into an unnecessary  rollercoaster after a very straight forward first set. 

Should have won it in straights after serving for it twice. I swear it's all tied to confidence at this point, she has lost that ruthlessness she was so good at. 

But the rest of her game is still there for her on clay. 

Just needs the belief back. 

And more matches, sadly she hasn't had as many matches on clay as usual with losing early in Stuttgart and withdrawing from Madrid. 

She's had a total of 5 matches compared to others who have had double that. 

I think with every match things will get better. I can already see a lot of the Iga of old with the new coach at the helm. 

Proud of the way Iga got her focus back after losing the first. 

Iga from earlier this year probably would have still been thinking about the mistakes and lost opportunities. 

And would have gotten frustrated and lost.  

While I'm still concerned about her inability to close things out straightforwardly, it's definitely something that will come with more match play.

I'm taking a lot of positives from this one and treating this match as McNally playing Iga into some form. 

After all last time they played 3 sets against each other Iga won Wimbledon.

Next match should be a lot easier in terms of comfort.

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek suffers earliest exit at Rome Open in 4 years

I went into this Rome Open with lower expectations after the Madrid loss, but with the hope that something might just click at a tournament she's had so much success. 

My hopes were raised with her first round victory over Cocciarretto, but quickly dashed when it become apparent it would be more of the same today. 

Serve completely let her down in the first set (double faulted in both times to give Collins a double break) so she really didn't have to do much to win it. 

At least Iga avoided the bagel and lost it 1/6. The 2nd set was much closer, with more fight and Iga did have chances to take it, just couldn't do so ended up losing it 5/7. 

With this loss the worst has happened and Iga will drop in the rankings from number 2 to #4 (a spot she held on to for 3 years) . This also marks Iga's 9th defeat this season (which equals her entire total from last year).

The last time Iga lost this early was five years ago to Arantxa Rus
 

She was 18 at the time. She has been virtually unbeatable here winning the title three of the past four years. Before today Iga had won an astounding 21 of her past 22 matches at Foro Italico -- that’s a winning percentage of 91.3 -- second only to Chris Evert’s 92.3. 

So yeah this one hurts quite a bit.

It's hard to say what the problem is honestly. 

Whether it's just Iga losing her mental edge (and locker room aura), and the opponents knowing Iga is vulnerable and lacking in confidence. 

Being shaken by all the events of the past year (Olympics loss & doping suspension).

The pressure of having to defend 3 titles on her fave surface.

Or if it's some deeper issue we're not privy to. 

Only Iga truly knows. 

I said after her loss in Miami, that I'd start to worry if we see the same issues on clay as on hard court (and give her a pass in Madrid due to the altitude). 

After this latest loss I'm equal parts worried and sad. 

Iga is most definitely in a slump something that every player goes through (often more then once in their career) but something which Iga is definitely not familiar with in her very young career. 

Currently she's losing matches with herself rather than her opponents beating her.

Going into Roland Garros this year with no titles will be a new experience for both her fans and Iga herself. 

I'll always have faith in Iga when it comes to clay, but while I still have hope, I'm not certain that she can solve whatever is going on in the next 2 weeks. 

My only hope is that the fall in the rankings will take at least a bit of the pressure off (which she has been clearly feeling quite a bit) and she might play a bit looser knowing that while she's still favourite due to being the defending champions she's not THE favourite based on form. 

Just writing that last paragraph almost physically hurt. Roland Garros has been synonymous with Iga for basically the past 4 years and to suddenly not have that be more of certainty is very jarring. 

And it really dampens my enthusiasm for the Parisian clay this year. 

If Iga is unable to defend her French Open crown she'll most likely fall to #8 or 9 in live rankings. But that's neither here nor there at the moment. 

Right now I simply want to see Iga play freely again, play her game without tension and see her feel the joy that she has playing this sport because right now even that seems to be missing. 

And it's quite tough to watch (makes me want to give her a big hug).

Having been a fan of this sport for many years I'm aware of how many peaks and valley's a players career can have so I'm by no means giving up on Iga and will continue to support her in this tough time. 

Because I know someone with her talent, will come out stronger on the other side. Even if it may take some time to get there. I believe she will. 

I just wish social media and (Polish) media in general would cut her some slack and allow her to figure it out out without the constant microscopic criticizing.

Because this  current dip does not in any way diminish all her previous astounding accomplishments (which no other Polish player has ever even gotten close to).

So keep your chin up Iga, we're still with you through thick and thin. There will be better times ahead. 

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek 3rd woman in Tennis history to win the Madrid-Rome double

 

In the latest clash between the World No.1 and No.2 players, top-seeded Iga Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia title.

Swiatek needed 1 hour and 29 minutes to beat Sabalenka for the eighth time in their 11 meetings. Swiatek has triumphed in Rome in three of the last four years, also taking the WTA 1000 title in 2021 and 2022.

"I kind of knew that if I'm going to work hard and if I'm going to be in the right mindset, this is achievable," Swiatek said afterwards. "I'm happy I was so focused and disciplined throughout the tournament to do that."

Stat corner: Swiatek's run to her 21st career WTA singles title, and her fourth of this year, increases a number of her staggering statistics.

Swiatek has now won her last nine singles finals. The last time the Polish player lost in a final was to Sabalenka at Madrid last year -- which is also the only time Sabalenka has defeated Swiatek in the five times they've met in finals (all of those on clay).

Rome becomes the third tournament where Swiatek is a three-time champion. Swiatek has also won three titles at Roland Garros (2020, 2022 and 2023) and Doha (2022, 2023 and 2024).

Swiatek also defeated Sabalenka in the Mutua Madrid Open final two weeks ago (saving three championship points) and she becomes the third player to win Rome and Madrid in the same year. Dinara Safina pulled off the double in 2009, and Serena Williams followed suit in 2013.

"For sure this match looked a little bit differently than in Madrid," Swiatek said. "I felt like I'm putting a lot of pressure. I just continued doing that throughout the whole match. Really proud of myself and really happy."

Swiatek, who turns 23 at the end of this month, is only the second woman to win three or more Internazionali BNL d'Italia titles before the age of 23 in the Open Era (since 1969). Gabriela Sabatini won four Rome titles before her 22nd birthday.

Tale of the tape: In Saturday’s final, strong depth on return gave Swiatek an early lead, breaking at love for 2-1. Swiatek was the steadier of the pair in the opening frame as she eased to the one-set advantage.

In the second set, Sabalenka came out firing, hitting more winners in the first two games than she had in the entire opening set (five). Sabalenka was rewarded with her first break points of the day, where she had five chances to break for an early 2-0 lead.

However, Swiatek is this year’s tour leader in break points saved, and she demonstrated that skill once again. The top seed found strong serves as she erased all of those break points, gritting out a crucial hold for 1-1 to keep pace with Sabalenka.

Swiatek saved two more break points in her following service game as well, which proved to be the last moment of peril on her delivery. She ended the final 7-for-7 on break points saved.

Swiatek took the lead for good at 4-3 after a netted backhand by Sabalenka ceded the first break of the second set. The World No.1 broke one more time for good measure to wrap up her latest WTA 1000 clay-court title.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek Madrid-Rome champion. 22 years old. How about that.

I mentioned I would be surprised if the Rome final rivaled Madrid because in sport something like that is rarely replicated. It's what makes the great matches special. They don't come around often.

It certainly wasn't for Aryna's lack of trying though, she carved out 7 breakpoints, but Iga was simply too good.

Didn't give Aryna anything to work with, just played a calm composed match. 

As she so often does in finals and no matter how many times it happens it is always extraordinary. Her level of focus is something else.  

So that's 21 career titles (more than any other Polish player). 

10th WTA 1000 title (the 4th one this year)

3rd Rome title

9th straight final won

12 match win streak on clay

It's the stuff of legends. Rest up champ, get all the tiramisu you can handle.

See you at Roland Garros.

Jazda!

3 - Iga Swiatek has become the second player in the Open Era to win three titles at the Internazionali d’Italia before turning 23 after Gabriela Sabatini. Empress.


Iga Świątek has obtained her personal best WTA ranking points of 11695, the second highest of all time, only behind Serena Williams who had 13615. Successor.

7/11 - Iga Swiatek has won 7 of the 11 clay court WTA events entered as World No. 1 - only Chris Evert (9), Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf (8 each) won more titles after 11 tournaments played on the surface as #1. Illegal.


3 - Iga Swiatek is the third player to win the title in Madrid and Rome in the same season after Dinara Safina 2009 and Serena Williams in 2013 - all did it as World No. 1. MadRoma.


10 - Iga Swiatek is the youngest player to win their 10th WTA-1000 title since the format’s introduction in 2009: Serena Williams at 32 years 324 days Victoria Azarenka at 31 years 29 days Iga Swiatek at 22 years 352 days Hurtle.

Iga Swiatek into her 3rd final in Rome and a rematch with Sabalenka

 

Iga and Saba meeting in Madrid and this Saturday again in Rome

ROME -- Playing against the World No.1 on her favorite surface, you can’t afford to toss out any freebies.

On a glorious sunny Thursday at Foro Italico, Coco Gauff played Iga Swiatek to a 4-all dead heat through the first 50 minutes, matching skittering defense and booming forehands. And then, for a fleeting moment, Gauff took her eye off the ball.

Back-to-back double faults left her swinging her racket in frustration and gifted Swiatek with a considerable opening. Swiatek hit the line twice in four points and emerged with the first set. The second invariably followed, and Swiatek was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over the No.3-ranked player in the world.

This brings Swiatek to a tantalizing juncture in history.

Only Serena Williams (2013) managed to win consecutive titles in Madrid, Rome and Paris. Swiatek could lock down the first two legs in Saturday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia final against the winner of the evening match between No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and No.13 Danielle Collins. With a win, the 22-year-old from Poland would find herself in the enviable position of being the overwhelming favorite at Roland Garros.

Swiatek, of course, has already won the Italian Open twice and the French Open on three occasions. Winning Madrid for the first time a few weeks ago was a personal breakthrough and you can see the confidence – as embodied in her swashbuckling game --flowing freely.

Swiatek has now won 11 consecutive matches. That’s also how many times she’s played Gauff in their WTA Tour careers and the victory count stands at 10; she’s 4-0 against the American on red clay.

Gauff, who turned 20 in March, was trying to become only the second player in a decade to reach the women’s singles final here in Rome before turning 21. The first? Iga Swiatek.

Gauff is only ranked two spots below Swiatek, but the gap remains considerable. It’s reminiscent of a comment Dominic Theim made to reporters after defeating Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros in 2016. Asked afterwards what the difference was, Thiem smiled and said, “About three years.”

“I thought that I played well majority of the match,” Gauff told reporters later. “It came down to certain moments. Yeah, she came up clutch. She had a lot of balls on the line, close to the line, which is what she does.”

Fact is, Gauff passed Caroline Wozniacki for the most wins in WTA 1000s before the age of 21 when she beat Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals. She’s the reigning US Open champion, but is still working to close the gap on Swiatek in this setting. Few players outside of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina can consistently put themselves in the Pole's orbit.

Gauff has been focusing on her service game in practice, but it’s been wanting, particularly in the big moments. Double faults are often the result of nerves under stress and she leaves the tournament with a total of 45 in five matches.

“The double-faults, they did come just in that one game,” Gauff told reporters. “Overall, if I'm going 120 [miles per hour] on the serves, I have to expect that.

“But overall I would say from just this match, I feel more negative emotions right now. Looking at the whole tournament from where I started to now, I definitely feel like it’s major improvement."

Said Swiatek, “For sure these are nice words. Hard for me to say. She’s the one who’s playing this kind of tennis and feeling what she can do with her racket. It’s a compliment from her.”

Swiatek wound up breaking Gauff four times, while giving up only one break herself. When it happened in the fifth game of the second set, the match was effectively over. It ran 1 hour and 48 minutes but somehow felt quicker.

After the last backhand -- following a sharp forehand service return -- Gauff walked slowly to the net with a resigned look on her face. Swiatek shook hands, acknowledged the chair umpire and happily danced on Stadio Centrale.

When Swiatek paints the lines like she did at the end, are there times when she feels unbeatable?

“No,” Swiatek said. “If I would feel that way, I wouldn’t play so well because I always try to remind myself that I shouldn’t expect anything, take anything for granted. Usually when I feel like this one is going to be a winner, I’m going to win this game, it doesn’t happen, so ... I have to think a little bit differently to be more efficient.”


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To think we had to wait a whole year for these 2 to meet and now we're getting a 2nd meeting between 2 of the world's best in almost as many weeks. 

Everyone was hoping for it, but in sport nothing is ever a guarantee so the fact they both made it is kind of amazing. 

Especially considering the effort they both showed in Madrid, to than turn around and go to a different country with different conditions, weather and court wise and make it all the way to the end is extraordinary.

I'm not expecting this one to be as high quality maybe not even as dramatic (because honestly I'm not sure anything will ever match it) and again it's sport so it's rare things happen the same way in such a short span of time. 

And they both have to be tired if not physically than certainly mentally.

But no matter the result I fully expect it'll be competitive, that we're pretty much guaranteed, and I CANNOT wait. 

I had low expectations going into this week knowing how much effort Iga put in in Madrid. The fact she has made back to back finals is just a bonus. And I'm full of awe and national pride.

As always I will be cheering for Iga with all my heart, I hope she plays free and like she has nothing to lose and just goes for it really. 

She's already given her fans so much joy and moments to remember since February. Win or lose it'll be the cherry on the cake.

I know Sabalenka will be really wanting this win and will have definitely learned from Madrid so I expect her to play a more measured and less chaotic match in clutch moments in particular. 

It'll be interesting to see what tactics Iga employs to counteract it all on the slower clay of Rome vs the altitude of Madrid.

Seriously is it Saturday yet?.

Jazda!.

Players who reached the finals at both the WTA 1000 in Madrid and Rome in the same year

•  Dinara Safina (2009) 

•  Serena Williams (2013) 

•  Simona Halep (2017) 

•  Ons Jabeur (2022) 

•  Iga Swiatek (2024) 

•  Aryna Sabalenka (2024)

3 - Since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, Iga Swiatek has become only the third player to reach multiple Italian Open finals as the WTA's #1, along with Serena Williams (three) and Monica Seles (two). Benchmark.

70.6 - Iga Swiatek (70.6%) is one of four players (min. 10 wins) in the past 40 years to hold a win rate of 70%+ on clay against WTA top 10 opponents, along with Chris Evert (78.9%) , Steffi Graf (76.7%) and Justine Henin (73.8%). Whoa.

18 - Only Conchita Martinez (24) and Serena Williams (20) have won more consecutive completed matches - retirements excluded - at the Internazionali d'Italia than Iga Swiatek (18, level with Chris Evert) in the Open Era. Legionary.

40 - Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Iga Swiatek (40%, 12/30) holds the highest percentage of finals reached from WTA-1000 main draws entered. Serena Williams (36.7%, 18/49) is the next best in the format's history. Inevitable.

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka playing each other in the Madrid AND Rome finals this year is the first time since *2000* that the WTA #1 and #2 will meet TWICE in a TWO-WEEK SPAN.  The last time was Hingis and Davenport in the 2000 Indian Wells & Miami finals

4 - It would be the fourth meeting on clay between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka as World No. 1 and 2 - equalling Evert & Navratilova for the most meetings on the surface in the past 40 years as the WTA's top-2 ranked players. Epic.

Iga Swiatek makes 3rd semi final in Rome

 

ROME -- Yet another reason why Iga Swiatek is nearly unbeatable on clay:

Madison Keys struck a heavy ball to her backhand side that was almost past her, when Swiatek suddenly stopped. In a split second, she reached out and flicked a lovely little drop shot that barely cleared the net and all but died in the dust. It may have looked like an accident to the untrained eye, but she clearly did it on purpose.

Keys, who thought she had won the point, responded with a shoulder shrug. Swiatek has that effect on people, especially when she’s playing on her favorite surface.

On a steamy Tuesday at the Internazionali d’Italia, Swiatek took this quarterfinal match 6-1, 6-3 in 76 minutes. On Thursday she’ll play No.3 Coco Gauff.

With the win Swiatek will push her WTA rankings point total to at least 11,085 when the rankings are updated on Monday, equaling the highest point total or her career. She will become one of only two players to break the 11,000 point mark in the WTA Rankings, along with Serena Williams.

While Swiatek has been the recent standard in Rome and Paris, she added another title to her resume when she won recently in Madrid. That brought the possibility of achieving another rarity -- back-to-back victories in Spain and Italy. Only Serena Williams (2013) pulled that off, but it certainly seems well within her grasp.

Imagine what she could do with a week off? Oh, we’ll find out in 12 days when Roland Garros begins play.

The 22-year-old from Poland will be looking for fourth title in five years and has won 25 of 26 matches in Paris in the past four appearances. Based on her scintillating play here, that doesn’t look like a reach by any means.

Against Keys, Swiatek faced 10 break points -- and saved them all. She broke Keys’ formidable serve four times.

Swiatek has already fashioned a record of 36-4 for the year and her hold on the No.1 ranking among Hologic WTA Tour players is 3,412 points over No.2 Aryna Sabalenka.

You have to feel for Keys, who has now lost to Swiatek twice in a span of 12 days. She reached the semifinals in Madrid, falling by the identical score of 6-1, 6-3, and made the quarters in Rome. And, it should be noted, Keys saw this coming.

Chatting with reporters after defeating Sorana Cirstea in the fourth round, she talked about how her gifts for power were diminished by clay.

“It takes away from my attributes,” she explained. “Everything is dampened just a little bit. That’s the biggest thing.

“It’s not Cincinnati at 2 in the afternoon on a bouncy fast court. Sounds like a good time to me.”

Keys was laughing when she said it, but it’s true. The only time Keys has beaten Swiatek was two years ago -- on a Cincinnati hard court.

On clay, though, it’s a completely different game. Swiatek has beaten her all three times.

“She moves on it really well -- like no other player,” Keys said. “She slides so well. It’s a tough situation, because you can’t really wrong-foot her.”

The 29-year-old American missed the first two months of the year with a shoulder injury and is playing with a new, lighter racket to ease the stress on that joint. After a 3-3 start, she’s won seven of nine matches in Europe and should feel good entering Paris.

A few more bits of statistical mayhem for you numbers-crunchers out there. Swiatek is:31-4 in WTA 1000 clay court events, the best winning percentage (.889) since the format was introduced in 2009.

49-4 on clay (.925) as the World No.1; only Chris Evert and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario were better.

80-0 in completed WTA 1000 matches when she’s won the first set.

Swiatek is looking for her third Italian Open title in four years. She might actually be challenged because all eight quarterfinalists are ranked inside the Top 25 for the first time in Rome in two decades.

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With her quarterfinal win over Madison Keys, Iga Swiatek is now 80-0 in completed WTA-1000 matches when she takes the first set

75 - Iga Swiatek now has 75 match wins on clay in 85 WTA matches. 

Only four players in the Open Era have reached 75 wins on the surface in fewer matches – Monica Seles, Nancy Richey (80), Chris Evert (81) and Margaret Court (82). Wow.

53.3 - Reaching a 16th WTA-1000 semi-final from 30 main draws entered, Iga Swiatek (53.3%) has surpassed Serena Williams (53.1%, 26-49) for the highest rate of WTA-1000 SFs reached, since the format’s introduction in 2009. Otherworldly.

Seems like I was worried for nothing. What are the odds Iga would beat Keys by the exact same score line as Madrid. I mean really. 

Iga just keeps surpassing expectations in Rome. In her interview she actually said today was the best day she felt on court. 

That's scary considering we're at the semi-final stage, and instead of being exhausted it seems like she still has some energy left to burn. 

A short match like today doesn't hurt however. 

I see the match with Gauff going one of 2 ways, it'll either be really physical and competitive for at least a set, or one sided and littered with errors. 

Personally I'm hoping for the latter. Especially if it's Saba or Collins who make the final. 

But this tournament has had plenty of surprises so I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.

Just enjoying each match with Iga, who when in her element is an absolute joy.

Looking forward to Thursday.

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek reaches quarterfinals in Rome for the 4th straight year

In a matchup between two women who have reached the top spot of the WTA rankings, Iga Swiatek fended off Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 to reach the Round of 16 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

"For sure, wasn't easy," Swiatek said after her latest win. "I'm happy in important moments at the end of both sets I was ready to break. I got my focus up a little bit. At the end that's what made the difference, so I'm happy."

Swiatek, the current World No.1, needed all of her mettle to oust Germany's Kerber, who held the No.1 ranking for 34 weeks during her career. Kerber returned to tour this January following a yearlong maternity leave.

Swiatek, who won Rome in 2021 and 2022, prevailed over Kerber in 1 hour and 38 minutes on Monday.

Now into her 103rd week ranked No.1, Swiatek improved to 3-0 against Kerber, including a victory at the German's comeback event at the United Cup at the start of the season. Swiatek also extends her lead as this year's current match-win leader with 33 victories on tour (Elena Rybakina is in second place with 30).

Next up: Swiatek will now face No.18 seed Madison Keys of the United States in the quarterfinals. Keys defeated No.28 seed Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1 earlier on Monday, which was Keys' first win in three career meetings with Cirstea.

After rehabbing her shoulder for the first two months of the season, Keys is surging again and has won seven of her past eight matches. But her one loss in that timeframe was to Swiatek, who beat Keys 6-1, 6-3 in the Madrid semifinals just over a week ago.

"Playing against [Keys] is not easy," Swiatek said. "The most important thing is to stay focused and really disciplined. That's what I'm going to do for the next days."

Match moments: On Monday, neither Swiatek nor Kerber was troubled on serve through 4-3, but Swiatek fired a forehand winner to break for 5-3 and serve for the set. Kerber, though, found some vintage groundstrokes to pull back on serve at 5-4.

Swiatek then held five set points on Kerber's serve in that game, but the German swatted away each of those chances.

Kerber pulled off some more magic serving at 6-5, erasing another two set points as she clawed from 15-40 to deuce. However, a wide forehand error by Kerber gave Swiatek an eighth set point, and the Pole closed out the set at last after a netted error by Kerber.

Kerber edged ahead 2-0 in the second set, but Swiatek raised her level, cracking a backhand pass down the line to break back for 2-2. That break turned the tide completely back in Swiatek's favor as she eased home from there.

Swiatek finished the match with 32 winners to Kerber's 14, and the top seed also had one fewer unforced error than Kerber. Kerber saved nine of the 13 break points she faced -- seven of those being set points in the first set -- but she only broke Swiatek twice.

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Angie may not have won, but she showed a great level once again particularly in that first set saving all those set points, and than in the 2nd breaking Iga's serve.  Very impressive. 

If she can play like this at Roland Garros no one will want to have her in their draw especially in the early rounds.

As for Iga she showed real composure today once again, especially after getting broken in the 2nd. Just raised her level and went right back to work.

Iga of 2 years ago would have gotten really frustrated and rushed through the 2nd set. It really shows how much she has matured and how far she has come in terms of trusting her game.  

I think it's good that Angie give Iga a challenge because she's going to need that match toughness facing Keys again tomorrow. 

Hopefully she can recover well physically having to play matches on back to back days. And a day match as well, will definitely help Keys serve so Iga will have to be on alert.

Wishing her energy and focus for tomorrow (whatever happens I'll be proud of another fantastic run).

Jazda!.

4 - Iga Swiatek is the third youngest player in the last 30 years to make 4+ consecutive quarter-finals at the Internazionali d’Italia - older only than Gabriela Sabatini and Amelie Mauresmo. Poker.


92.3% - Iga Swiatek is 48-4 on clay court as World No. 1 (92.3% win %): since the WTA Rankings were published in 1975 only Chris Evert (96.1%) and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (92.9%) have a higher ratio as #1 - min. 10 matches. Cosy.

88.2% - Iga Swiatek has become the player with the higher winning percentage in WTA-1000 clay court events since the format was introduced in 2009 (88.2%, 30-4) - min. 5 matches. Undisputed.