Iga Swiatek admits she is going through a rough patch in her career after crashing out of the Miami Open.
The world No.3 fell 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, to compatriot Magda Linette in what is her first opening match loss at a tournament since the 2021 WTA Finals. It is the second time this year Swiatek has been beaten at a WTA 1000 event after winning the opening set. The first to do so was Maria Sakkari in Doha.
Prior to Miami, Swiatek lost in the quarter-finals of her three previous events. It is not a disastrous run for a player, but for somebody of the Pole’s calibre, it is below her usual standard in recent years. Something she links to her mentality on the court.
“Tennis feels complicated in my head,” Swiatek told reporters in the mixed zone in Miami. “I know it’s supposed to be simple. In terms of my mentality and how I feel on court, it’s going to take a while.”
One of the most concerning aspects for Swiatek is that four out of her last six defeats on the Tour have occurred after she won the first set. As for her latest performance against Linette, she is puzzled by her tennis but has vowed to solve these issues as quickly as possible heading into the clay swing. In her previous meeting with Linette at the 2023 China Open, she stormed to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“It just was a bad match for me … unconsciously, or consciously, it’s hard for me to say. I need to work to get back from that, because I haven’t felt things like that for like five years,” she continued.
“I’ll just get back to work, try to get something positive out of the practices and try to figure it out.”
Elaborating further about her form, the six-time Grand Slam champion admits these issues have been bothering her for weeks and months. Although she enjoyed success during the second half of last season, winning her first Wimbledon title and then WTA events in Cincinnati and Seoul.
“I just haven’t been doing good stuff well,’’ she said. “For the last weeks, months, I don’t even know, it’s kind of up and down, so, yes, I’m going to try to do better, to go back from this because I don’t like it.
“This is like the world’s worst nightmare a tennis player can have in terms of dropping these matches in terms of level. So, I need to live through this and go forward and learn. And figure it out.”
Swiatek’s woes shouldn’t take anything away from the performance of Linette, who has now recorded eight wins over top 10 players during her career. She is currently ranked 50th in the world and will next play Alexandra Eala, who reached the semi-finals in Miami 12 months ago.
