Iga Swiatek suffered a huge collapse in her second group-stage match at the WTA Finals on Monday, winning just one game after taking the first set over Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh was the last woman to qualify for the season-ending championships, but she’s already guaranteed to make it out of the group and play the semi-finals after sealing a 3-6 6-1 6-0 comeback victory over Swiatek.
It was just the second time this year that the world No. 2 lost a match after taking the opening set. Swiatek hit 42 unforced errors during the disappointing defeat, and the Wimbledon champion is now keen to rewatch the match to learn why she unravelled.
“It’s hard to say what happened. We didn’t have many rallies; we were dominated by serve-plus-ones or return-plus-ones,” Swiatek told Sportowe Fakty.
“I think I wasn’t as solid in playing those fast, long balls. Rybakina was more aggressive and more solid in finishing. I need to watch the match to fully understand it, but I can’t overanalyse it either.”
It was night and day from Swiatek’s first round-robin match, in which she dispatched Madison Keys 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour. The Polish star is still alive in the tournament, however, as she faces Amanda Anisimova for the second spot in the semi-finals.
But the six-time Major winner doesn’t want to overanalyse her defeat to Rybakina. Instead, she’s been unwinding with a few of her favourite off-court activities.
Swiatek is a Lego ambassador, and often brings sets on the road with her to assemble in her downtime. The world No. 2 also loves reading, and she’s currently watching Game of Thrones.
“I always do all these things. I try to stay busy between matches,” she added.
Rybakina, meanwhile, is now on an eight-match winning streak. The world No. 6 claimed the title in Ningbo last month and then reached the semi-finals in Tokyo before withdrawing from the tournament.
She arrived in Riyadh a little later than some of her rivals and suffered from jet lag early on. But the 2022 Wimbledon winner needed just 57 minutes to beat Anisimova in her first round-robin match before stunning Swiatek on Monday.
After completing the comeback against Swiatek, the world No. 6 said: “She brings so much intensity to the court. I feel like she started the match really well and I was a little bit slow, so on serve straight away, she broke me.
“It was difficult to be down, but in the second set, I pushed myself. My serve improved, and I’m really happy that I stepped in and played better each point. I’m very happy with my performance.
“I’ve been playing really well the past few weeks. I was improving in each match, and the results were following after. Even here, I’m trying to focus on the little details, and it’s a great opportunity to play against the top players.
“I’m really excited for my next match, and hopefully I can bring the same intensity and the same game.”