Iga Świątek can easily divide the current tennis season into two periods, but perhaps this division will soon have to be expanded to three such specific moments. The first period is of course the one during which Iga Świątek defended her position as the world leader and played tournament after tournament. At that time, there was a huge pressure on her shoulders.
This had to decrease when, losing to Jelena Ostapienko in the US Open , she gave up the world ranking leader’s seat to Aryna Sabalenka . However, at that time there was a lot of criticism, which hit Świątek and her coaching staff hard. Fans and experts started to speak loudly about what had stopped working in Świątek’s tennis, and some also demanded changes. Some wanted a revolution, others a delicate evolution.
Iga Świątek’s drama after the US Open
The fact is, however, that it was definitely not good. Iga was very far from her optimal form. It seemed that the break she took after the US Open should help stabilize her form at a high level. However, nothing of the sort happened, at least at first glance. The Pole returned to play during the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo, where she had big problems from the very first match.
In the 1/8 finals, Świątek faced Maja Hontama. The Pole had a surprising number of problems even then, which were visible even in a clash with such a low-ranked opponent. She managed to win, but after enormous suffering. On Świątek’s face after the match, one could see rather terrible relief than great joy of victory. The culmination of her poor form was the quarterfinal match with Weronika Kudermetowa.
The rival was at least a notch better than Hontama, but Iga was still the sure favorite. She didn’t fulfill this role, and that’s a very mild description. The match with the Russian was mainly marked by Świątek’s mistakes. The Pole ended that match with a negative balance of -32 points (50 unforced errors/18 winners) . In comparison, her opponent had a negative balance as well, but eight points better. However, it doesn’t change the fact that Iga was frustrated with her game and simply didn’t enjoy tennis.
