Iga Swiatek breezed into the last four of the Italian Open on Wednesday after conceding three games against world No. 5 Jessica Pegula.
The Pole spent just over an hour on court during her 6-1, 6-2 win over Pegula, who had beaten her in their two previous meetings. Throughout the clash, Swiatek dictated play with heavy, deep shots towards the baseline, as her opponent failed to find her A-game. It is the third match in a row she has won in Rome by dropping three or fewer games.
“For sure, the stuff that we did for the last few weeks helped a lot. I feel much better and have a lot of confidence in my shots,” Swiatek said afterwards of her surge in form.
“I was using that from the beginning of the match today and putting pressure on Jesse, so I’m really happy with the way I played.”
As for Pegula, she will be eager to forget her performance. The American struggled significantly with her second serve, winning two out of 16 points. On top of this, she also produced various errors from the forehand side that cost her.
Swiatek’s one-sided victory moves her to two wins away from claiming her first WTA title of the season and her first on clay since the 2024 French Open. Pegula is the first top-10 player she has beaten in 2026 after suffering four consecutive losses to such opposition.
“I love playing in Rome,” Swiatek commented. “I’m really happy that I can stay this year much longer than last year.”
Swiatek will next play either second seed Elena Rybakina or Elina Svitolina. She has already lost to both of these players this season, but those meetings were on a hardcourt. Overall, she is level with Rybakina in their head-to-head (6-6) and has a positive record against Svitolina (4-2) on the WTA Tour.
“It’s impossible not to know who’s left in the tournament,” she commented.
“I’ll prepare the same way as before any match. I’ll see maybe a little bit of today’s match (between Rybakina and Svitolina), but most of the information will come from my coach.”
Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman since Serena Williams to win Rome for a fourth time.
Swiatek’s run so far at the 2026 Italian Open
- R1: BYE
- R2: def. Caty McNally (USA) 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3
- R3: def. Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) 6-1, 6-0
- R4: def. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 6-2, 6-1
- QF: def. Jessica Pegula (USA) 6-1, 6-2
