Tennis history will treat Iga Swiatek with much more respect than she has received from some in the sport over the last few years this brilliant Polish player has a record that already puts her among the greats of the game with her four French Open wins at Roland Garros backed up by a US Open win in 2022 and as long reign as world No 1 Yet for some reason, Swiatek’s face does not fit for critics who appear to take great delight in his defeats In a story that replicates that of 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu too many unpleasant social media hawks go out of their way to lambaste Swiatek and they have been especially vocal over the last 12 months Since her brilliant win at Roland Garros at year ago Swiatek has not won another title and her defeats against Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart last month and the 6-1 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Coco Gauff at the Madrid Open confirmed that she is more vulnerable that ever since her rise to the top of the women’s game Report: Iga Swiatek may miss the grass-court season in favour of an extended rest period Coco Gauff explains how she made Iga Swiatek ‘uncomfortable’ during their semi-final Swiatek has looked lost at times and it is clear that there is more to her slide in fortunes than just a dip in form Her unfortunate failed doping test last year rattled this complex character even though it was later proved she was not responsible for the positive doping test after she took a medication that was contaminated This episode and some negative reports surrounding her personal life added to a mix of negativity flying in Swiatek’s direction which inspired her to post an emotional message on Instagram pleading for a break in the swipes “The second half of last year was extremely challenging for me especially due to the positive doping test and how circumstances completely beyond my control took away my chance to fight for the highest sporting goals at the end of the season,” she wrote “This forced me to rearrange certain things within myself after weaker performances in previous years I played without expectations and focused solely on my work accepting that another Australian Open might not go my way regardless of my efforts I performed very well and was close to reaching the final it struck me hard that my positive test result case missing two highly-ranked tournaments in October and last year’s exceptional results [winning four 1000-level tournaments and a Grand Slam in the first half of the season] will keep affecting my ranking and basically take away my chance for No 1 I know that playing while stuck in past frustrations My team and I recognised this issue almost immediately (with their experience probably faster than anyone could imagine) but shifting perspective takes significant time “Working on oneself isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back “I’m facing new elements of this puzzle all the time: circumstances change and it’s particularly challenging for me right now.” She went to make some strong points as she added: “Sport is not played by robots and there’s no guarantee results will always be easy or under control When I’m highly focused and don’t show many emotions on court I’m suddenly labelled immature or hysterical “That’s not a healthy standard – especially considering that just six months ago I’m still processing and coming to terms with those experiences because I clearly see how much we love judging But perhaps a few people who genuinely want to understand what I’m experiencing will understand this.” the snipes have continued to come her way on social media and now the pressure seems to be getting the better of her after that heavy defeat against Gauff in the Spanish capital The critics delighting in Swiatek’s slide in fortunes and potential rankings collapse over the next few weeks as she looks to defend her Italian Open and French Open titles need to appreciate that behind the sporting story is a personal tale that needs to be treated with care Swiatek appeared to break down on court during her defeat against Gauff in Madrid and the tennis family should speak out against the snipers keen to hide behind their social media names to add to the distress one of the game’s biggest stars is enduring READ MORE: Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic going through ‘complicated period’ with heartbreaking news about Pole ‘true’ © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved but it was her off-court humor that stole the spotlight following her latest victory the Madrid Open champion shared a hilarious and refreshingly candid anecdote to the camera crew who were following her after the post-match ceremony — and it involved shoes When asked how many pairs of shoes she had left in her kit “I think this one and one more? It was four? I had four and I only used two,” she said But then came the kicker — a behind-the-scenes story involving none other than Iga Świątek Iga Swiatek (POL) shakes hands with Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) after their match on day eight of the GNP Saguaros WTA Finals Cancun “I’m not like Iga - you know why guys The other day I was in the locker room and I had only one pair of shoes and I forgot another one,” recalled Sabalenka “I looked at her locker and under the locker there were like eight or nine shoe pairs,” Sabalenka said ‘Some people are really professional…and some are just like me.’ So bad I am," she added The moment was a typical Sabalenka moment — light-hearted The story also offered a rare and amusing glimpse into the different approaches of two of the tour’s top players.  While Świątek is known for her meticulous preparation and strict rituals such as carrying nine pairs of shoes for a tournament — Sabalenka’s laid-back attitude serves as a charming contrast despite the difference in packing strategies both women have found a budding friendship between them which is very difficult to foster on the WTA tour Sabalenka’s victory in Madrid marks another strong showing in the 2025 season With her confidence high and her sense of humor intact she heads into the rest of the clay court swing not just as a contender but as a strong fan favorite Casper Ruud has received messages from Rafael Nadal Iga Swiatek and Boris Becker following his triumph at the 2025 Madrid Open 6-4 victory over Jack Draper in the final on the Estadio Manolo Santana court to secure his maiden Masters 1000 crown and the biggest title of his career Ruud is the first player in his nation’s history to win a Masters title having twice previously been a runner-up at tournaments of this level (in Miami and Monte Carlo) The three-time Grand Slam finalist said: “It feels great [This was] one of the really big goals I dreamed about when I was young so it’s an incredible feeling to accomplish it I knew Jack had been playing unbelievable all year so I knew that if I didn’t bring my A-plus game I was going to be whooped around the court He’s won title on every surface except [clay] and he’s already made finals here in Madrid Ruud honed his game at the tennis academy of his idol Rafael Nadal and his milestone victory in Madrid pleased the legendary Spaniard Nadal — who won a record five Madrid Masters titles — wrote: “@CasperRuud98 Casper Ruud banishes ‘big title’ hoodoo as Madrid Open title secures top-10 return ‘Lucky guy’ Casper Ruud reveals how fiancee inspired his Madrid Open success the current WTA world No 2 and a five-time Grand Slam champion also reacted to Ruud’s win on her Instagram story Congrats @casperruud,” posted Swiatek Ruud sent a warm message of support to Swiatek after the Pole’s brutal 1-6 1-6 loss to Coco Gauff in the Madrid semi-finals “Hey @iga_swiatek keep your head up,” wrote Ruud on X but you inspire so many and you’ll be back stronger than ever!!” Tennis legend Boris Becker hailed both Ruud and Draper’s efforts after the entertaining final The six-time major winner wrote: “Casper did it!! Holding his nerve playing a perfect last game and deservingly winning the @MutuaMadridOpen but also paying my respect to @jackdraper0 reaching the final playing scintillating tennis on his least favourite surface a former doubles world No 1 who coached Serena Williams said: “Huge congratulations to Casper READ NEXT: Points and money earned by Ruud, Draper, Musetti, Zverev, Djokovic at Madrid Open Coco Gauff dominated Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open semifinal: 6-1 It was strange seeing Swiatek so outmatched After the match, Swiatek struggled to explain why she performed so poorly other than playing with heavy legs she did express the need to take a few days off from the sport We later learned that Swiatek had recently lost her grandfather which surely made her situation more challenging According to the Polish publication Przegląd Sportowy Swiatek is considering taking drastic measures including skipping all of the grass court season Wow.Reports that Swiatek may skipped the grass season and take a long break between Roland Garros and the US Open... https://t.co/325kZnhFNk Swiatek's team has decided that the five-time Grand Slam champion will play in the remaining clay court tournaments (Italian Open and French Open) as she is defending thousands of rankings points Swiatek will skip the short grass court season and use the time to prepare for hard court season and the US Open in August The reporting made it clear that no one from Swiatek's camp has confirmed these reports "It should be emphasized that this is our information Iga to leave her mark on grass 🌱 pic.twitter.com/bPRt801mTX and switching to her least favorite surface is probably not a good idea right now Especially considering she does not have that many points to defend missing Wimbledon is a major deal for any tennis player 2 with a record of 26-8 on the season with zero titles She has not won a tournament since last year's French Open Of course, she has dealt with unbelievable amounts of stress off the court. In addition to the recent loss of her grandfather, Swiatek dealt with the drama of her doping ban (and subsequent ban) as well as shaking up her coaching staff in October 2024 Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond New Balance unveils Coco Gauff's tennis shoes for Roland Garros. The ASICS x A.P.C. collaboration is taking over the Madrid Open. Jannik Sinner appears to have a new girlfriend. Nick Kyrgios implied he is playing in the 2025 French Open but is not on the entry list. Qinwen Zheng explains the "many" reasons why she lost in the Madrid Open. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER The first clay-court WTA 1000 tournament of the season is drawing to a close in Madrid and there will be some notable moves when the WTA Rankings update next week we look at the Madrid Open winners and losers from a rankings perspective The women’s singles final at La Caja Magica is set, with Aryna Sabalenka set to face Coco Gauff in the Spanish capital World No 1 Sabalenka has stretched her lead at the top after reaching her second consecutive final in Madrid The Belarusian sits on the 10,768 points she started the tournament with after defending her runner-up points and she could increase her total to 11,118 if she lifts the trophy Iga Swiatek was the defending champion but the world No 2 has dropped 610 points after falling in the semi-finals this year — taking her points total from 7,383 to 6,773 ‘Iga Swiatek has unravelled – it’s like the computer is malfunctioning’ Aryna Sabalenka equals stunning Martina Hingis feat as reaches fourth Madrid Open final Gauff started the Madrid Open in fourth position but she has displaced third-ranked Jessica Pegula in the Live WTA Rankings with her run to the final The 21-year-old American has boosted her tally by 530 points to 6,603 and she can take the No 2 spot from Swiatek if she claims the title Pegula also had the chance to finish the tournament ranked second Jasmine Paolini will climb above Madison Keys into fifth place after the latter fell a round short of her last four result in 2024 Emma Navarro’s single victory before losing in the third round will be enough to see her replace Paula Badosa — who withdrew through injury — as the world No 9 Diana Shnaider’s run to the last 16 has seen her rise from 13th to a new projected career-high of 11th in the live rankings Elina Svitolina is up three places from 17th to 14th after her excellent semi-final result Marta Kostyuk started the event ranked 36th and she has surged to 27th position due to her quarter-final run will leap nine spots from 56th to a new career-high of 47th Yuliia Starodubtseva reached the fourth round after coming through qualifying and she has been rewarded with a 19-place climb to world No 79 Elena Rybakina’s third round loss will see her drop a sizeable 325 points as she was a semi-finalist in Madrid in 2024 has dropped out of the top 20 (from 19th to 22nd) after her third round exit Ons Jabeur is set to fall from 28th to 36th after falling well short of her quarter-final effort in 2024 Mayar Sherif’s first round defeat has seen her drop from 50th to 64th in the live rankings as she made the last 32 last year tournament organizers for the Italian Open (Internazionali BNL d'Italia) unveiled the draw for the WTA 1000 Masters event in Rome Tennis fans poured over the brackets to see where their favorite players landed and many people arrived at the same conclusion — World No 2 Iga Swiatek has a surprisingly easy path to the final This is welcomed news for Swiatek and her fans, as the Queen of Clay has struggled on her favorite surface this year. Even worse, a Polish media outlet reported that Swiatek is considering skipping all of the grass season if she does not finish the clay season on a high note Below is a breakdown of Swiatek's projected matches for each round of the Italian Open Our @WTA main draw is out 🤩Which matches are you looking forward to the most?#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/zbpSYcMV4e That means her Rome Masters campaign begins in the second round with a match against the winner of Elina Avanesyan and Elisabetta Cocciaretto Swiatek will likely face either Danielle Collins or Polina Kudermetova Swiatek could match up against Elina Svitolina or Liudmila Samsonova Swiatek has a one-sided record against all of those potential opponents with potential matchups against Madison Keys (who she beat last week but lost to in the Australian Open) she has the advantage against Pegula and Paolini Welcome back Iga! 🤩Our 2024 WTA champion is here for her first training in Rome#IBI25 | @WTA pic.twitter.com/wUcR6OGp2o a potential final could pit Swiatek against Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff Swiatek leads in head-to-head matches against both players and Gauff has won her last three matches against Swiatek (including last week in Madrid) so every path to the final will be difficult But as Swiatek looks to get back on track and snap her title drought Swiatek is the reigning Italian Open champion and is about to defend a lot of points in Rome and Paris at Roland Garros She currently has a record of 26-8 on the season with zero titles Carlos Alcaraz faces a brutal path to the 2025 Italian Open final. Jannik Sinner returns to a challenging 2025 Italian Open draw. Aryna Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff in straight sets to win the Madrid Open. For Coco Gauff For Iga Świątek a changeover midway in the second set at the Madrid Open said it all She kept it there as she sipped water from an open can And when she pulled it off to go back on the court especially as Gauff trotted back onto court to close business The tears continued through the final changeover before Gauff did to Świątek what Świątek has done to so many others on Europe’s red clay the past five years She beat the four-time French Open champion 6-1 6-1 in a little over an hour at the Caja Magica in Madrid setting up a final against either world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka or Elina Svitolina of Ukraine The win puts Gauff into her first individual final of the season It also pulls her a click closer in her head-to-head meetings with Świątek 2 and the dominant player of the last four seasons who played an error-strewn opening match against Dayana Yastremska in which she lost the first set without winning a game She had just four unforced errors on her forehand and four on the backhand against 18 winners She won 90 percent of the points she played on her first serve and 69 percent on her second “I was aggressive and I played with margin,” Gauff said on the court after the win but I think I forced her into some awkward positions.” Gauff said she told herself she needed to raise her level in the second set. Świątek had lost the first in her quarterfinal match 6-0 but she recovered to win the next two over Australian Open champion Madison Keys she can come back and play great tennis,” Gauff said it became apparent that was not going to happen the defeat continues a season that would delight just about anyone on the WTA Tour — but she is not anyone She has reached the quarterfinals in every tournament she has played Her defeats this year have largely been to peaking opponents and eventual tournament winners all the signs of them were present in Spain: a slew of groundstroke errors and a sense of bewilderment against a player competing at a very high level Świątek’s defensive footwork and general movement which is close to peerless and one of her greatest strengths It seemed stiff and stilted throughout the afternoon in a way that it rarely does on clay she glides across the court with a lethal combination of ease and speed then hustling back into position and jumping on the first chance to end the point as Gauff belied her recent struggles on her forehand side by whipping the ball up and down into the court and out of her opponent’s easy reach time and again She knocked in 70 percent of her first serves but won just 35 percent of those points figures that are difficult to comprehend for a player at her level It was Świątek’s worst loss on clay since 2019 Świątek was ranked 104th and was considering going to college 3 and the defending Roland Garros champion Świątek beat Halep in straight sets on her way to her first Roland Garros title Świątek must now regroup for the Italian Open in Rome as she was in Madrid and as she will be at the French Open in Paris “She is very talented and can make you run and move you around the court,” Gauff said in her post-match news conference or tried to do all the times that I played her I’ve gotten a lot better since maybe our first couple of times playing each other and obviously the results are showing that I just feel like it’s one of those days you just step on court and everything feels good Świątek never won more than two consecutive points and won just six points on Gauff’s serve in seven games on me that I didn’t move well,” Swiatek said in her post-match news conference “I wasn’t ready to play back the shots with heaviness Świątek said her tennis has been on and off throughout the tournament and she rarely was able to resort to a Plan B She hasn’t been playing instinctively of late because it’s not going by itself,” she said Świątek’s distress dates back to last summer her actions haven’t lined up with the words she has used publicly She said it was important to excel on the grass of Wimbledon Then she showed up at the All England Club without having played a grass court event to prepare for it opting to rest instead after capturing the French Open That appeared to be a logical decision given that Świątek had a good chance to capture the gold medal at the Olympics with Roland Garros hosting She had lost just one match there since 2019 but appeared overwhelmed throughout the competition Świątek hit the wall in her semifinal match against Zheng Qinwen Her stress became apparent following the match when she broke down in the mixed zone and walked through the media while crying There were losses in the semifinals of Cincinnati and the quarterfinals of the U.S telling the world she needed to attend to personal matters But she had been provisionally suspended after testing positive for trace amounts of a performance-enhancing drug A tribunal accepted her explanation that the substance got into her system from a tainted batch of the sleep aid melatonin but the experience of nearly losing her reputation and being subject to a far longer ban threw her She has struggled to find her way ever since Świątek slammed a ball in the direction of a ball kid She later apologized but said in a social media post that she feels constantly judged and is constantly battling expectations and imposing opinions on others,” she wrote “But perhaps a few people who genuinely want to understand what I’m experiencing will understand this this external standard is definitely not my standard and I don’t accept my team and me being boxed into external expectations.” Their results together have not measured up to last year when she was working with Tomasz Wiktorowski but she could not successfully defend her titles in Doha To the extent that her current struggles have been psychological responsibility for helping her through those issues falls to Daria Abramowicz who has been working as her mental coach for the past five years Abramowicz has been a constant presence on tour with Świątek during that time attending practices and sitting in her box during matches After Thursday’s loss and emotional breakdowns Świątek grabbed her bag and quickly headed off the court A camera showed her walking through the tunnel toward the locker room with Abramowicz following about 15 feet behind MADRID -- Coco Gauff overpowered defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-1 to reach the Madrid Open singles final for the first time Thursday Gauff broke Swiatek's serve three times in the first set and twice in the second to cruise to a 64-minute semifinal victory over the second-ranked Swiatek at the clay-court tournament Gauff will face top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-5 to reach the Madrid final for the fourth time in her career It was Gauff's first win over Swiatek on clay Coco Gauff won her third straight match against Iga Swiatek and notched her first victory on clay in their history. Julian Finney/Getty Images"The mentality that I had in the whole match was aggressive," the fourth-ranked Gauff said but I think I forced her into some awkward positions." Swiatek had recovered from losing the first set 0-6 to Madison Keys on Wednesday "I couldn't really get my level up," the four-time French Open champion said but I think it's on me that I didn't really move well I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness The last time Swiatek won only two or fewer games in a match -- on any surface -- was a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham in 2019 "it was just making sure my level stayed the same Sabalenka returned to the final after ending Svitolina's unbeaten run on clay this year -- she was 9-0 on the surface in 2025 Sabalenka won the title in Madrid in 2021 and 2023 and was runner-up to Swiatek last year Gauff is 5-4 against Sabalenka and won their only prior meeting on clay The American also won their most recent meeting Sabalenka became the first player to obtain 30 main-draw wins at WTA events in 2025 In the men's quarterfinals, Casper Ruud advanced by defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-5 to become the first player born in 1990 or later to reach 30 tour-level semifinals on clay The 15th-ranked Norwegian had been 0-3 against Medvedev in his career "I looked at our stats last night and saw he beat me on grass "I tried to use the surface to my advantage I thought the level was pretty good from both players I was impressed with Daniil's ability to produce power here on clay." Ruud will next face Francisco Cerundolo, who rallied to defeat teenager Jakub Mensik 3-6 Cerundolo had beaten top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the previous round Madrid Open 2025 semi-finals: Head-to-head and where to watch live actionWorld number four Gauff meets defending Madrid champion Swiatek at the Madrid Open 2025 as they look to reach their first clay court final of the 2025 season to qualify for a first semi-final this year Here are the key things you need to know ahead of the Mutua Madrid Open semi-final clash and where to watch live action","tag":"[\"discipline-tennis\",\"noc-us\",\"coco-gauff\",\"2025-atp-wta-tennis-mutua-madrid-open-madrid\",\"newsclip\",\"gender-female\",\"schedule\",\"preview\",\"iga-swiatek\",\"noc-pl\"]","module_type":"InStoryCampaign","module_title":"Coco Gauff vs Iga Swiatek This will be the 15th meeting between Gauff and Swiatek of which Poland’s Swiatek has prevailed on 11 occasions Their only meeting this year was at the United Cup which ended in a straight sets win for Gauff Gauff has won the last two encounters with the five-time Grand Slam champion; every time the USA star has beaten Swiatek she has gone on to lift the trophy at the end of the competition That does not hide the fact that Swiatek has dominated in their head-to-head record yet to lose any of their five matches on clay on the surface where the 23-year-old reigns supreme Gauff is targeting a third consecutive victory and a first on clay while Swiatek aims to extend her 100% clay record against the 21-year-old and return to a third consecutive final in the Spanish capital Picture by Brendon Thorne/Getty ImagesCoco Gauff (left) of the USA and Iga Swiatek of Poland shake hands in the 2025 United Cup Final Gauff and Swiatek will face off on Thursday 1 May not before 4pm local time in Madrid (CEST The 2025 Madrid Open broadcast will be shown in the U.S while fans in Poland can watch the action on Canal+ while the remaining rights for other nations vary for the men's and women's events We detail the possible path to the title for the top contenders in the WTA 1000 Rome 2025 and a new major tournament will be played starting this week The WTA 1000 Roma 2025 already has its draw defined with particular interest in the path that Aryna Sabalenka will have to face if she wants to conquer the Foro Italico a place where she has not been able to showcase her best version Iga Swiatek aims to rediscover her top form There are numerous compelling reasons why this WTA 1000 Roma 2025 presents itself in our lives, a key tournament on the road to Roland Garros 2025 where some of the world's best players arrive with tasks to fulfill. This is not the case for Aryna Sabalenka holding a confidence that allows her to dream of a title at the Foro Italico Seeing if Iga Swiatek reacts will also be very interesting - Analysis of the draw in the WTA 1000 Roma 2025 Potential opponents for Aryna Sabalenka: Bye - Yastremska/Potapova - Kenin/Boulter - Kasatkina/Eala/Leylah - Zheng/Rybakina - Gauff/Andreeva - Swiatek Potential opponents for Qinwen Zheng: Bye - Danilovic/Siniakova - Frech/Azarenka - Rybakina/Vekic - Sabalenka - Gauff/Andreeva - Swiatek Sabalenka faces a demanding path if she wants to assert her favorite status in a tournament where historically she has not shown her best self Kenin claimed victory here a few years ago potential encounters with the dangerous Eala and a tough quarterfinal match Neither Zheng nor Rybakina are in their top form yet both have what it takes to perform well here Having Gauff or Andreeva as potential opponents in the semifinals is also far from comfortable Potential opponents for Cori Gauff: Bye - Zuchinni/Qualifier - Linette/Bencic - Anisimova/Raducanu/Alexandrova - Andreeva/Navarro - Sabalenka / Swiatek Potential opponents for Mirra Andreeva: Bye - Tomova/Qualifier - Noskova/Birell - Navarro/Tauson - Gauff - Sabalenka - Swiatek An unsettling scenario lies ahead for the American player who must recover physically and mentally from her performance in Madrid to avoid a premature exit Bencic could pose a tough challenge in the third round while a very formidable opponent awaits her in the round of 16 although both Anisimova and Raducanu are inconsistent Meeting Andreeva again in the quarterfinals would be great news for the tournament and a challenge for both with the Russian facing notable obstacles like Noskova Potential opponents for Jasmine Paolini: Bye - Pedone/Sun - Jabeur/Kvitova - Muchova/Ostapenko - Pegula/Shnaider - Swiatek/Keys - Sabalenka Potential opponents for Jessica Pegula: Bye - Krueguer/Qualifier - Mertens/Zarazúa - Shnaider/Putintseva - Paolini/Muchova/Ostapenko - Swiatek/Keys - Sabalenka The American seems to have been favored with a friendly draw where the major challenges would arrive in the round of 16 against Putintseva or Shnaider she could face a Paolini determined to excel on home soil needing to perform at a stellar level to overcome notable obstacles like Jabeur Potential opponents for Madison Keys: Bye - Gracheva/Qualifer - Kalinskaya/Stearns - Badosa/Haddad-Maia - Swiatek/Svitolina - Pegula/Paolini - Sabalenka Potential opponents for Iga Swiatek: Bye - Avanesyan/Cocciaretto - Collins/P Kudermetova - Svitolina/Samsonova - Keys/Badosa - Pegula/Paolini - Sabalenka who is currently facing serious challenges and aims for a soothing result at the Foro Italico Having Madison Keys on the horizon brings much unease with potential tough matches in the second and third rounds Svitolina could capitalize on her current confidence for another significant performance while Badosa stands in Keys' possible path This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Análisis del cuadro en el WTA Roma 2025: Sabalenka y Swiatek, con suerte dispar The debate over the hectic tennis schedule is a recurring theme in the sport and now former world No 4 Caroline Garcia has suggested the pressure tennis players are under to play in tournaments is pushing their bodies to breaking point Garcia sealed the biggest win of her career as she lifted the prestigious WTA Finals title back in 2022 but she has struggled to back up that success over the last couple of years That is partly due to ongoing injury issues and now the French star has used her LinkedIn account to highlight what she suggests is the pressure players feel to perform when they are battling with physical issues you’d play through the pain,” was the opening line Garcia used in her post “Someone said this to me a few weeks ago after I explained I wasn’t ready to compete This isn’t an attack on any individual but rather a reflection on a mindset athletes are conditioned into from a young age: playing injured is somehow honourable or necessary WTA Rankings: Points being dropped by Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Pegula at the Italian Open Naomi Osaka seals stunning rankings boost as she ends four-year title wait “Don’t get me wrong—greatness demands sacrifice and struggle are inevitable parts of pursuing excellence But there’s a line we need to recognize and respect I’ve been relying heavily on anti-inflammatories just to manage the pain in my shoulder and other therapies just to keep competing “I’m not sharing this for sympathy or to highlight toughness I’m questioning: Is it truly worth pushing our bodies to such extremes Is enduring chronic pain in your forties—an outcome of years spent pushing athletic limits—something to be celebrated or have we collectively taken sports too far “Making a living as an athlete is an incredible privilege But relentlessly exceeding the body’s limits just to stay competitive Perhaps that’s a boundary we shouldn’t cross “Maybe many of the victories glorified by society aren’t actually worth winning after all.” They were comments that will resonate with a lot of tennis players with Carlos Alcaraz among the high profile names that have criticised the tennis schedule World No 2 Iga Switaek has appealed to tennis cheifs to give players more time off in between tournaments and when she lost against Mirra Andreeva in Dubai in February the Pole was quick to claim scheduling issues were the primary problem “For sure it’s a calendar thing,” said Swiatek we’re not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week by week it’s not like some time ago that outside of But I feel like for sure the calendar is not helping The schedule debate in tennis will rumble on and with ATP Masters and WTA 1000 tournaments now extended over almost two weeks the top players are getting even less time to recover from big events READ NEXT: WTA Italian Open draw: Sabalenka-Gauff rematch on cards, Raducanu faces qualifier, Eala gets tough opener After 20 minutes on the clay courts of Madrid, Iga Świątek threw her racket down on to her bag in frustration She was experiencing something that she has inflicted on numerous opponents throughout her tennis career: the fear of humiliation A couple of minutes later, the fear became reality, as Madison Keys served up the first 6-0 set, or bagel, that Świątek has received in almost four years. Not since a match against Daria Kasatkina at Eastbourne in England in June 2021 had she lost a set 6-0 In the end, the bagel from Keys will register as little more than a new statistic for commentators, because Świątek recovered to win the next two sets and take the match 0-6, 6-3, 6-2, gaining a measure of revenge for her defeat to the American in January’s Australian Open semifinals The result gives her a 3-0 record on clay in matches in which she lost the first set 6-0 It also offers another data point during what has been a strange Madrid Open for the defending champion who has won 10 clay-court titles including four French Opens has looked more vulnerable than perhaps she ever has on her favorite surface while never getting into real jeopardy because she is so otherworldly on it when she finds her game The prodigious topspin on her groundstrokes rears up and pulls players off the court creating short replies which she can devour And when matches do get more complicated than she expected she has a wellspring of winning experience to draw from Her matches in Madrid have been so in her control that she has determined their closeness for good and for bad she was the dominant player in almost every point — to the extent that her errors accounted for 22 of the 35 points that Eala needed to take the opening set but of the 48 points Shnaider won in that set Świątek was truly overrun for the first time Having handled Linda Noskova’s aggression with relative comfort in between her matches against Eala and Shnaider Świątek had no answer to Keys’ forehand and though she said she was “feeling the ball,” sprayed groundstroke after groundstroke long She repeatedly changed her racket and asked for restrings looking for the higher tension that would give her more control Świątek said of the changes she made: “I wanted to keep my margins and play a little bit more safe to just play more balls in because I was making some unforced errors that weren’t really necessary.” That quote could just have easily come from her match with Keys As soon as the 6-0 set was over and the second set had begun particularly in backhand-to-backhand rallies She dragged Keys wider using sharper angles She faces either Mirra Andreeva or Coco Gauff in the semifinals May 1 Analysis from tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare Clay season is the time to start making more of a judgement on Świątek’s form in 2025 — or so it appeared but also the part at which she is under the most pressure so much so that if she were to win the Madrid Open she wouldn’t even gain any points on world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka — because she won them all last year She has also hardly had a bad year by any rational tennis measure Świątek has reached the quarterfinal or better in every tournament she’s entered She was one point away from the Australian Open final five have come either in a final or to the defending champion and two have come against Ostapenko one of the only active players against whom Świątek has a negative head-t0-head she came up against someone playing one of their best matches of the season Against Keys in Madrid it initially looked like more of the same The American has been visibly unshackled by her acceptance that tennis results need not define her taking her to her first Grand Slam title in Australia and to a 23-4 record in 2025 prior to this encounter Keys destroyed Świątek in the second set of their Australian Open semifinal and the quicker conditions at Madrid’s altitude make it more hospitable to big-serving hitters like her All this means that a comeback win for Świątek should suggest that her form is in a very healthy place but external factors and some elements of her game make it hard to reach that conclusion with any certainty Her serve let her down against Keys in the first set exemplified by the short forehand she sprayed long to fall down 5-0 she has hit shots straight to her opponent from seemingly unassailable positions with expanses of the court gaping extending points that could have been over in just one strike frustration appears to be a watchword for Świątek right now Świątek was so dissatisfied with her performance that she put in some extra practice before speaking to the media Świątek referenced that after the Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart where she suffered a dispiriting loss to Ostapenko Świątek clarified that she’d had to go home to Poland between Stuttgart and Madrid “Then coming here being in a little bit of rush for sure wasn’t super comfortable,” she said She has not looked super comfortable in most of her matches in Madrid but nevertheless is into another semifinal for 2025 Gauff’s triumph is her first over the four-time Roland-Garros champion in six attempts on clay, sealing a first WTA 1000 singles final on this surface with a shot at a 10th career singles title this weekend. “I felt great out here on the court today,” she said post-match. “It was much different to my first match on this court in the first round, and I feel better every time…I honestly think clay is one of my better surfaces, so I felt that if I can beat her on hard [courts], then I can beat her on clay.” The 21-year-old was conscious that she had to bring her A-game against statistically the strongest clay player on the WTA tour, with world no. 2 Swiatek having won all previous five meetings in straight sets with the USA star on the surface. Gauff managed to break the Polish player on three of her four serve games in the first set, as her aggressive game resulted in 11 winners and a stunned Swiatek. Picture by REUTERS/Juan MedinaPoland's Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Madrid Open It left Swiatek facing a break and set point at 5-1 down an unforced error on the second handed Gauff a dominant opening set in just 33 minutes at the Estadio Manolo Santana For Swiatek’s frustration and unforced errors Gauff was playing with superb accuracy and control as she broke for the fifth consecutive time in the final four clash While Swiatek struggled with frustration and unforced errors Gauff played with superb accuracy and control breaking for the fifth consecutive time in the final-four clash The Italian Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments in tennis and six different women have won the title three times or more since the start of the Open Era in 1968 Sharapova would ultimately thrive on the dirt – with her three triumphs in Rome among her greatest successes The Russian beat Sam Stosur in straight sets to claim her first title in 2011 before successfully defending her title thanks to a thrilling three-set victory over Li Na in 2012 Sharapova would claim her third and final title in 2015 rallying from a set down to beat Carla Suarez Navarro Swiatek heads into the 2025 Italian Open searching for her fourth Rome title having won the event in three of the last four years The Pole sensationally claimed her first WTA 1000 title at the event in 2021 with an astonishing 6-0 6-0 triumph over former winner Karolina Pliskova before downing Ons Jabeur to defend her title in 2022 After retiring injured in her quarter-final in 2023 Swiatek bounced back in 2024 with an emphatic run to the title capped off by beating chief rival Aryna Sabalenka in the championship match Sabatini was one of the leading players of her era and her consistency towards the very top is highlighted by her four Italian Open triumphs in the space of five years the former world No 3 claimed her first title in 1988 with a three-set victory over Helen Kelesi Sabatini would then successfully defend her title in 1989 with a three-set triumph against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario The Argentine missed out on a third straight title in 1990 but bounced back in 1991 and 1992 with further back-to-back victories The 9 women with the most WTA clay match wins: Chris Evert with 382, Steffi Graf 6th The 7 women with the highest WTA clay-court win percentage: Chris Evert 94.55%, Serena Williams 6th Former world No 2 Martinez dominated in Rome across the mid 1990s with the Spaniard winning a staggering four straight titles at the event Martinez ended Sabatini’s reign with victory in the 1993 final and then defended her title in 1994 with victory over tennis icon Martina Navratilova The Spaniard then saw off compatriot Sanchez Vicario in straight sets to complete a successful ‘three-peat’ before easing past Martina Hingis to seal a fourth consecutive triumph in 1996 Martinez nearly made it five titles in a row in 1997 though she was ultimately beaten by Mary Pierce in the final Williams is somewhat underrated as a clay-courter and her four Italian Open titles makes this her most successful event on the dirt The US star won the title for the first time in 2002 dispatching key rival and clay-court icon Justine Henin in straight sets to triumph Williams finally captured her second title with an emphatic win over Victoria Azarenka before brushing aside Sara Errani in 2014 to defend her crown After withdrawing midway through the 2015 tournament the former world No 1 returned in 2016 and captured her fourth title beating compatriot Madison Keys in the final Tennis legend Evert holds an array of records on clay courts and among them is her tally of five Italian Open women’s singles titles Evert won her first Rome title in 1974 with victory over Navratilova and she beat her great rival once again in the final twelve months later the American regained her title with a rallying three-set triumph over Virginia Ruzici before defeating the Romanian for the second straight year in 1981 Evert claimed her final Italian Open title with an emphatic victory over Hana Mandlikova in 1982 though she would also finish as the runner-up in 1984 Read Next: The 10 men to win multiple Italian Open titles: Rafael Nadal top, Novak Djokovic with 6 A well-known tennis journalist as launched a passionate defence of Iga Swiatek as well as Novak Djokovic following their Madrid Open exits as he revealed that “both are going through a complicated period” Swiatek endured a difficult title defence at the WTA 1000 tournament as she needed three sets to beat teenager Alex Eala in the second round also went the distance against Daria Schnaider in the last 16 and was bagelled by Madison Keys in the opening set of their quarter-final before bouncing back to win three sets She was then humbled by world No 4 Coco Gauff in the semi-final as she suffered an extraordinary collapse as the American won 6-1 6-1 in what was one of the five-time Grand Slam winner’s worst defeats “I couldn’t really get my level up,” Swiatek admitted after the match on me that I didn’t really move well I wasn’t ready to play back the shots with heaviness Djokovic crashed out in the second round as he was beaten in straight sets by the unseeded Matteo Arnaldi with the defeat coming just a fortnight after he also lost early at the Monte Carlo Masters Journalist Benoit Maylin was the first to confirm that both tennis stars are dealing with incredibly difficult life issues away from the court as he wrote on social media platform X: “Before burying Djokovic and Swiatek after Novak’s strange behavior and Iga’s apparent nervousness it should be noted that both are going through a complicated period “Several of Djoko’s close friends have health problems and Iga lost his grandfather just before the tournament.” Iga Swiatek may miss the grass-court season in favour of an extended rest period Novak Djokovic backed to ‘turn it on’ and win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title Fellow journalist Michał Chojecki has revealed that Swiatek’s communications manager Daria Sulgostowska has confirmed that the world No 2 flew to Poland after her elimination from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart on April 19 to attend the funeral She then travelled back to Madrid to prepare for the WTA 1000 event “I asked Iga Swietek’s team if the information given by this journalist about the death of Iga’s grandfather is true Iga was at the funeral before the tournament,” Chojecki wrote Swiatek’s next tournament is her title defence at the Italian Open while Djokovic has decided to withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 event with his next tournament the French Open There have been reports that Swiatek will take an extended break after Roland Garros and skip the grass-court season but the Pole is yet to confirm her plans after the clay-court campaign Coco Gauff defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets at the Madrid Open semifinal: 6-1 Gauff's dominant win marked her third consecutive victory over Swiatek and was further proof that the Polish star is no longer unstoppable on clay courts During her brief post-match press conference Swiatek was asked what she found most difficult during her lopsided loss Iga Swiatek: Today, for sure, everything collapsed tennis-wise. I feel like I wasn't even in the right place with my feet before the shots. I wish I would have moved better because I think that would give me an opportunity to bounce back. pic.twitter.com/t1bxMmVmOC there's nothing like to walk through because it was all pretty much the same from the beginning to the end but I think it's on me that I didn't really move well; I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness When asked if it was just a bad day or something more I feel like I haven't been moving well and the tennis also was like on and off for most of the tournament," said Swiatek Iga 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/Nz3uyk1twM "So I wasn't really sure what I have in my toolbox like I didn't even have a plan B because nothing was working today…" Swiatek concluded her remarks with a hint at her mindset and plans going forward I feel like I wasn't even in the right place with my feet before the shots because I think that would get me any opportunity to bounce back," said Swiatek what. a. performance. 🤯@CocoGauff stuns the defending champ Swiatek, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the FINAL in Madrid! #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/3OFtNSoeRu "I've been forcing myself to go lower to be more precise with my feet because it's not going by itself I'm just going to try to work on that." Swiatek will have just a few days to prepare for next week's Italian Open in Rome Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the tennis court and beyond "The mentality that I had in the whole match was aggressive," the 21-year-old said after her victory "Maybe it wasn't [Świątek's] best level today but I think it's on me that I didn’t really move well," she said after the semifinal "I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness With the once-dominant Świątek struggling on clay, questions are forming in the lead-up to the May 25th start of the Roland-Garros — the second Grand Slam of the pro tennis season While Świątek will hope to break her stumbling streak by defending her three straight French Open titles later this month, Gauff — who, prior to this week, hadn't advanced past a quarterfinals round since her 2024 WTA Finals win last November — is rising from her own frustrating 2025 start at just the right time The 2022 French Open finalist is grabbing significant momentum before returning to Stade Roland-Garros — but Gauff faces one more opponent before she can focus on the clay court's Grand Slam 1 Aryna Sabalenka awaiting her in Saturday's 2025 Madrid Open finale Gauff will contend with Sabalenka in the 2025 Madrid Open women's singles final at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free Star US distance swimmer Katie Ledecky is back to her old tricks, registering her fastest 1,500-meter freestyle in seven years — and the event's second-best time in history — at the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale The nine-time Olympic gold medalist finished the 30 pool lengths in 15:24.51 just missing the world-record 15:20.48 race time she posted in 2018 Ledecky now holds the 1,500-meter freestyle's top 22 fastest times in women's swimming history — all of which would have won Wednesday's final race, where she defeated second-place finisher Jillian Cox — a University of Texas freshman — by a full 39 seconds Ledecky didn't slow down after her 1,500-meter performance posting her fastest 400-meter freestyle in nine years the very next day In the final lap of the race, the 28-year-old staged a comeback to pass Canadian teenage phenom and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Summer McIntosh and secure the win Her time of 3:56.81 just missed the US record of 3:56.46 that Ledecky previously claimed along with a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics "I don't know if I ever thought I was going to be 3:56 again," Ledecky said in her post-race broadcast interview "I'm just really happy with all the work that I've put in to get to this point." The 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series continues through Saturday with Ledecky competing in Friday's 200-meter freestyle final prior to racing in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday Both races will begin at 6 PM ET on their respective days Live coverage of the meet will stream on Peacock on Friday before shifting to the USA Swimming Network on Saturday The English Football Association (FA) announced Thursday that it will ban trans women athletes from playing women's soccer starting with the 2025/26 season with the governing body's new policy officially going into effect on June 1st Previously, the FA allowed trans women athletes to play on women's teams as long as they had "blood testosterone within natal female range." The move comes after April 16th's landmark ruling from the UK's highest court, which states that gender equality protections only apply to what the court called "biological women" — and that trans women do not legally meet that definition. The Scottish FA followed suit, also releasing its decision to ban trans women athletes from competitive play on Thursday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports) there are currently no trans women playing anywhere on the UK's professional football pyramid some 72 trans athletes played in FA grassroots matches over the last decade Today, an estimated 20 to 30 trans players participate in that growing grassroots system, an initiative created to advance the FA's four "game-changer" priorities — one of which is to "see a game free from discrimination." “We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” the association said in Thursday's statement "It is clear these abrupt changes have been made on legal advice following the recent UK Supreme Court ruling, as there remains no football-specific peer-reviewed research or evidence that shows the existing policies constitute a safety risk," stated advocacy group Pride Sports in response be a rise in incidents of transphobia in football." This weekend's NWSL action features top-table battles, Cinderella hopefuls and a whole slew of teams hunting redemption wins to open May's league play Perched at the top of the NWSL standings, the Kansas City Current sits tied for points with the second-place Orlando Pride, while just four points separate the remaining six teams currently above the postseason cutoff line With last week's rollercoaster results setting up redemption arcs for this weekend's slate the 2025 NWSL season's seventh matchday is full of bounce-back opportunities It's back-to-school weekend for the WNBA, as teams travel to stars' old collegiate stomping grounds to tip off a series of preseason exhibitions Kicking off the preseason party is this year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers who will make her professional debut when the Dallas take on Las Vegas on Friday The showdown will occur at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion as both teams boast Fighting Irish alumni in the Wings' Arike Ogunbowale and the Aces' Jackie Young and Jewell Loyd Later on Friday, reunited LSU teammates Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith will return to the Baton Rouge court when the Chicago Sky tips off against the Brazil Women's National Team Fever fans will be particularly grateful that Sunday clash will receive national airtime, as resale tickets for the sold-out game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena are averaging upwards of $440 apiece Though the exhibition results won't matter, testing players in front of a crowd while building excitement for the upcoming 2025 season can be just as crucial for teams as they look to polish their rosters over the next two weeks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports) Friday will see the Dallas Wings take on the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET followed by the Chicago Sky's matchup against Brazil at 9 PM ET, with both games airing live on ION The weekend's final exhibition pits Connecticut against Seattle at 6 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage available with the WNBA League Pass Revamped Indiana Fever Gear Up for 2025 WNBA Season NCAA Basketball Stars Take Center Court at 3X Nationals UConn Basketball Lands Top Transfer Serah Williams USWNT '99ers Story Scores Feature Film Development with Netflix South Carolina Basketball Coach Dawn Staley Honored with a Statue with Kelley O'Hara: Is NIL Killing College Rivalries you agree to the storing of cookies on your device 1 Iga Swiatek found herself in rough waters during a semifinal against American star Coco Gauff at the 2025 Madrid Open.  The match started off disastrously for Swiatek who was overwhelmed 6-1 in the opening set by a focused and aggressive Gauff The Polish star’s struggles continued in the second set when she was broken again in the second game which triggered an outburst of frustration Swiatek turned to her player box and vented angrily seemed to catch something that prompted him to book Swiatek Swiatek looked completely out of sorts against an opponent she had beaten 11 times in 14 matches and Gauff didn’t have to do much to derail Iga A moment captured by the camera three games into the second set showed how much the situation seemed to be weighing on Swatek: She was fighting back tears during the changeover.  It has been a below-par season for Swiatek She has not won a title this year heading into her favorite slam She also had a difficult time in her previous round against yet another American who handed Swiatek her first bagel in years giving her a shot at the Madrid title and positioning herself among the French Open favorites.  the semifinal turned out to be one of Swiatek's worst matches signalling a need to get back to the drawing board as Roland Garros looms ATP star Casper Rudd offered words of encouragement for Swiatek The top stars on the WTA Tour are all set to battle for the 2025 Italian Open crown but how many points will they be defending from last year’s tournament Iga Swiatek is the reigning champion in Rome having downed Aryna Sabalenka in the 2024 championship match The draw at the second WTA 1000 clay tournament of the season comprises 96 players with the 32 seeds receiving a bye into the second round Swiatek is defending 1,000 points in Rome and she has slipped to fourth in the Live WTA Rankings as a result The world 2 — who fell in the semi-finals in her Madrid Open title defence last week — has not reached a final since winning last year’s French Open Sabalenka is a mammoth 4,695 points clear of Swiatek in the Live Rankings The Belarusian is dropping 640 points from her runner-up result in 2024 but she is guaranteed to maintain a sizeable lead at the top Jessica Pegula is not defending any points as she missed last year’s Italian Open through injury and a strong result would give her a good chance of securing what would be a new career-high ranking of world No 2 Coco Gauff was a semi-finalist in Rome in 2024 and she also has the opportunity to end the tournament ranked second WTA Italian Open draw: Sabalenka-Gauff rematch on cards, Raducanu faces qualifier, Eala gets tough opener WTA Rankings: Aryna Sabalenka up to third on list for most points since 2009 as she emulates Serena Williams Mirra Andreeva and Emma Navarro each fell in their opening match last year while Paula Badosa is defending 120 points from her last 16 showing Danielle Collins has slipped from 35th to 49th in the Live Rankings as she is defending 390 points for her semi-final run in 2024 Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka are each dropping 215 points having reached the quarter-finals last year Emma Raducanu is not defending any points as she did not compete at the Italian Open a year ago The 10 points received for a first round bye have been added to the totals above Iga Swiatek’s shockingly one-sided loss to Coco Gauff at the 2025 Madrid Open has been analysed by two former British players and tennis pundits Gauff demolished Swiatek 6-1 6-1 in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid to claim her first win on clay against the 23-year-old Polish star Swiatek was broken five times and won only six points across Gauff’s seven service games The defeat ended Swiatek’s title defence in the Spanish capital and extended her run without winning a tournament; she has not reached a final since securing her fourth French Open crown in June last year who was ranked as high as 24th on the WTA Tour gave her verdict on Swiatek’s struggles “She was very dominant at this stage last year and we were looking at — thinking how can players stay on court with her on a clay court because she was just a level above everybody else but she has unravelled,” the former British No 1 told Sky Sports “And there’s been multiple occasions recently where she’s lost to players you wouldn’t expect her to this Coco Gauff one is a different calibre of player ’cause she’s a US Open champion and she’s also been to the finals of the French Open on the clay courts it goes big time and it’s almost like she can’t stop the rot It’s like the computer is malfunctioning and it needs a reboot and she starts to get more and more panicky and she rushes through “She’s such an intense competitor every time she walks onto court there’s sort of stress levels you can feel it coursing thorough her veins and I think she gets very but of course it’s quite a crucial time for her because she’s gonna go towards Rome “So she’s defending huge amounts of points but also a Grand Slam title this is not where she wants her tennis to be so very interesting times to watch what happens with her.” Iga Swiatek makes ‘plan B’ admission after being thrashed by Coco Gauff at Madrid Open Iga Swiatek gets heart warming message from Casper Ruud after alarming defeat agreed that Swiatek’s forehand is the biggest concern she really looked like she was struggling on her forehand,” he assessed “I couldn’t believe the number of errors that she was making on her forehand “Most players have a shot that they almost need to go well to dictate their whole performance and their whole mindset if the forehand isn’t there and she’s not getting the right message from what’s still a relatively new partnership then the frustration is obviously spilled onto the match court today “And it was unbelievable for a player of that level she almost looked like she wanted off the court in the second set so there’s a lot to figure out in that team.” A recent report has discussed plans being considered by Iga Swiatek and her team which would involve the world No 2 taking an extended break from tennis after Roland Garros by skipping the grass-court season Polish news site Onet reported the information with the outlet making clear that a decision either way has not been made at this time – with the future action being dictated by the Pole’s results at her next two tournaments everything will depend on the results in Rome and Paris,” Onet stated [Iga] Swiatek may consider giving up playing on grass to return to hard courts with new strength and properly prepare for the US Open “But Team Swiatek will wait until the very end with this decision.” Swiatek has yet to reach the last four at Wimbledon having never reached that stage at any grass-court event the Pole possesses a 68% win rate at SW19 – comparatively poor when compared to the other three Grand Slams Swiatek’s prospects for 2025 do not look much better after failing to make a final at any tournament since the 2024 edition of Roland Garros and being dominated 6-1 6-1 by Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters the Pole made clear that she needed a break “For sure, I want to have some days off, especially because I didn’t have [any] after Stuttgart,” commented the WTA world No 2 WTA Rankings Winners & Losers Madrid Open: Gauff rises, Swiatek & Pegula suffer blows, Sabalenka dominant Despite grass not being Swiatek’s favoured surface her coach – Wim Fissette – made clear that a focus in 2025 would be improving on quicker surfaces our goal is to do better on the faster surfaces,” said Fissette “I think on the fast surfaces sometimes she is trying to play the game of the fast players instead of keeping to her own game and going a bit further back “A bit more behind the baseline and still trying to play her heavy spin balls because that’s where she is so difficult to play because she plays with so much spin she tries to play faster than her opponent so she should stay true to herself on the faster surfaces Please have a look at the following sections Concerning SportyTrader: the number one sports betting and forecasting help website SportyTrader.com is the leading online sports betting and forecasting website We offer over 70,000 free tips and forecasts on soccer Offering the most comprehensive betting website comparator SportyTrader allows you to bet in complete security while benefiting from the best bonuses and promotions available on the Internet About Us - Conditions of Use - Advertising Privacy Notice - Editorial Policy - Work with Us  Gambling Addiction - Contact - Sitemap Copyright © 2025 SportyTrader.com - All rights reserved The Pole looked erratic and out of ideas in a stunning 6-1, 6-1 loss to Coco Gauff at the Madrid Open on Thursday her title defence coming to a screeching halt inside the Caja Magica It is the second-worst loss Swiatek has ever faced in WTA Tour-level clay-court match 6-0 loss to Simona Halep at the 2019 French Open – when she was just 18 – her only heavier defeat on the dirt a third straight to Gauff after previously leading their head-to-head 11-1 brings about plenty of problems for the five-time Grand Slam champion it could prove to have an unfortunate impact on her WTA ranking Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka in an extraordinary final to lift her first Madrid Open title twelve months ago meaning she was under notable pressure as the reigning champion in 2025 The Pole earned 1,000 ranking points for her triumph in 2024 and came into this year’s event with a total of 7,383 points Her semi-final run in 2025 has earned her 390 points though that means 610 points will drop from her ranking when the WTA Rankings update next Monday (May 5th) Swiatek will hold 6,773 ranking points when the rankings update – and may no longer even be the world No 2 Coco Gauff hits stunning milestones as she thrashes Iga Swiatek in Madrid Open shocker WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka’s rival says she ‘is never winning a sportsman award’ after Madrid Open controversy When it comes to Swiatek potentially losing her world No 2 ranking While the Pole will fall to 6,773 points in the WTA Rankings Gauff has provisionally moved up to 6,603 points after her emphatic semi-final triumph That is a current increase of 530 points on the US star’s pre-tournament total of 6,073 points after eclipsing her fourth-round exit from 2024 The world No 4 heading into the tournament Gauff is already guaranteed to move back above current world No 3 Jessica Pegula next Monday the 21-year-old would also leapfrog above Swiatek and move back to her career-high of world No 2 if she wins Saturday’s final at the WTA 1000 final Victory over one of world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka or world No 17 Elina Svitolina would see Gauff hold 6,953 ranking points next week Swiatek has not been ranked outside the top two since March 21 spending 125 weeks of that period as the world No 1 Even if Gauff is unable to win the final and replace Swiatek as the world No 2 the Pole’s ranking is still under threat over the next month and a half The world No 2 is defending 1,000 points as the Italian Open champion and 2,000 points as the reigning French Open champion Read Next: Meet the lucky loser enjoying an incredible run of fortune at the Madrid Open MADRID -- Iga Swiatek has been far from her invincible self at the Mutua Madrid Open As she progressed to the quarterfinals here she uncharacteristically dropped sets to younger players Alexandra Eala and Diana Shnaider Swiatek is an accomplished baker -- her bagels are world-renowned -- but No is a four-time Roland Garros champion for a number of significant reasons 2 wins nearly 90 percent of her matches on clay and on Wednesday those instincts kicked in on the way to a 0-6 Madrid: Draws | Scores | Order of play it was one of the weirdest matches I’ve ever played,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview “I didn’t feel like [the first set] was that bad I felt the ball well -- it just went super long Coco next up: The triumph sent Swiatek into Thursday’s semifinals against No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, who reeled off nine of the last 10 games in her quarterfinal victory over No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva. Swiatek is 11-3 lifetime against Gauff, but Gauff has won their last two meetings, including this year at United Cup. However, Gauff is yet to beat Swiatek on clay. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WTA (@wta) Stat corner: The unforced errors were the story of the match: 35 for Keys, 25 for Swiatek. Swiatek now leads the head-to-head 5-2 -- and she’s 4-0 on clay against Keys. This is Swiatek’s 20th semifinal in 36 WTA 1000 appearances. She’s only the third player to win her first six completed clay-court quarterfinals in those elite events, joining Serena Williams and Simona Halep. The last time they played, Keys took down World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the Australian Open. She went on to win her first Grand Slam singles title, beating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. But that was on a hard court. Clay changes the dynamic dramatically. Match moments: Defending champion Swiatek was looking to reach three consecutive semifinals in Madrid, something previously achieved only by Maria Sharapova. But when Swiatek dropped the first set without winning a game, it was the first time that happened to the Polish player in nearly four years -- against Daria Kasatkina on the grass in 2021 Eastbourne. That’s a staggering stretch of 625 completed sets without a shutout. Swiatek committed 10 unforced errors, won 29 percent of her service points -- and a total of only nine points. The second set was an almost complete reversal, with Swiatek looking much more comfortable. Keys, who had only two unforced errors in the first set, was charged with 15 in the second. Swiatek broke the American's serve twice, and she converted her second set point when a Keys forehand return found the net. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WTA (@wta) Swiatek’s superior movement became more of a deciding factor The first break of the third set occurred with Keys serving at 2-2: after saving two break points Swiatek won a marvelous point with a lunging backhand volley followed by a Keys forehand into the net Even when Keys got a decent look at a forehand The Pole converted her second match point when a Keys forehand sailed out and in every service game she got like two three points by aces or some amazing serves,” Swiatek said “So when I didn't get them back I had no chance to win a point “But that's why it's good that we have second sets to just change something up I feel like for sure I started serving better and that helped me." MADRID -- Power was restored at the Caja Magica tennis complex Tuesday and the Madrid Open resumed with a packed schedule that included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals after a "more relaxed" day because of the blackout Following the major blackout that prompted 22 matches to be postponed on Monday, Swiatek returned to the center court and defeated Diana Shnaider 6-0 6-4 to stay on track to defend her title in the Spanish capital I think the whole world was just more relaxed obviously the people who didn't lose because of this," she said Swiatek said she took away food from the tournament site and relaxed at the hotel until the power came back on "I just chilled and used that time to not think about what I should do," she said Most parts of Madrid regained power overnight but the Caja Magica was still without electricity early Tuesday causing a delay in the opening of the gates for fans and organizers did not have to alter the day's schedule of matches although there was the possibility of the night session being delayed because of the high number of matches during the day Swiatek cruised in the first set but had to save 11 of 13 break points to seal a hard-fought victory against the 13th-seeded Shnaider Swiatek has not lost before the quarterfinals in seven tournaments this season but hasn't gone past the semifinals since Roland Garros last year. She will next face Madison Keys, who defeated Donna Vekic 6-2 It will be Swiatek's first meeting with Keys since she lost despite having match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys but I think it was a night session or something," Swiatek said I think it was like colder or a little bit different Sabalenka defeated 44th-ranked Stearns 6-2 6-4 to advance to the Madrid quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years It was the WTA Tour-leading 28th win this season for the two-time Madrid champion. She was tied with Jessica Pegula with 27 Sabalenka lost last year's final to Swiatek Cerundolo defeated the second-ranked Zverev 7-5 6-3 to continue his quick rise in the rankings who also defeated Zverez last year in Madrid broke serve once in each set and saved the only break opportunity he conceded at center court who also defeated Zverev last year in Madrid Zverev was coming off the title in Munich and will move on to defend his title in Rome "He played better than me today," Zverev said "He definitely played better than me last year when we played here In the men's side, 31st-ranked Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an abdominal injury after losing the first set 7-6 (2) to sixth-ranked Jack Draper Sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur tied Carlos Alcaraz with a tour-leading 24th win this season by getting past Denis Shapovalov 6-3 The seventh-ranked De Minaur will next face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat 2019 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 Paul was among the players having to play doubles on the same day as their singles matches. Another was 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, the Miami winner who defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-2 before having to play his doubles match on the same court a bit later The 27-year-old Bublik joked in a conversation with the match's referee during a changeover Like five years ago it was super easy to play tennis," the four-time winner on tour said and people with tickets for Monday's matches were not allowed back in on Tuesday "Nobody said anything yet," said Juan Duato who was denied entry when he arrived on Monday during the power outage "They said we couldn't come in and asked us to contact customer support Organizers said later Tuesday that anyone who purchased tickets for Monday would receive a full refund for the purchase That process would be carried out automatically over the next few days Aryna Sabalenka has pulled away from Iga Swiatek in the WTA Rankings after another dominant run at the Madrid Open while there was also a nice bump for Naomi Osaka thanks to her performance elsewhere The story of the week was very much Sabalenka hitting her peak in the rankings as she has become only the third player after Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek to break the 11,000-point barrier The three-time Grand Slam winner’s title run at the Miami Open helped her to a new 11,118-point milestone and she now has an astonishing 4,345-point advantage over Swiatek after the Pole’s semi-final exit Sabalenka started her 28th consecutive week at No 1 in the rankings on Monday to take her overall tally to 36 which puts 15th on the all-time list for most weeks at the top but she is assured of moving up in the coming weeks thanks to her mammoth lead Amélie Mauresmo on 39 weeks in 14th place will be overtaken while Victoria Azarenka (51) will also come under pressure Sabalenka’s win over Gauff in the Spanish capital was good news for Swiatek as she managed to hang onto second-place in the rankings but she faces another uphill taks at the Italian Open Swiatek effectively dropped 610 points in Madrid after failing to defend her title and she is under pressure from Gauff as the American closed the gap to 170 points after finishing runner-up If Swiatek fails to defend her title in Rome but also Jessica Pegula in the rankings after the tournament Jasime Paolini completes the top five as she moved up one place with Madison Keys down to sixth while further down Emma Navarro and Paolo Badosa swap places after the latter withdrew from the Madrid event Diana Shnaider is up to two places to a career-high No 12 while Elina Svitolina climbed three spots to No 14 after reaching the semi-finals Marta Kostyuk lost in the last eight against Sabalenka but she is rewarded with a nine-place jump to No 27 while fellow quarter-finalist Moyuka Uchijima is also up nine spots to No 49 Aryna Sabalenka breaks 11,000-point barrier in WTA Rankings WTA Rankings Race To Riyadh: Aryna Sabalenka pulls away from rivals, Coco Gauff in the running again Just behind Uchijima sits four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka as she climbed seven places after winning the WTA 125 Challenger event in Saint-Malo the former world No 1 signed up for the Tier 2 event and ended up winning the title who lost in the second round of the Madrid Open Fellow youngster Alex Eala also lost in the second round and she climbed two spots to a new best of No 70 Iga Swiatek admitted that she struggled to even find a “plan B” at the Madrid Open after a stunning loss to Coco Gauff in their semi-final showdown It took just 64 minutes for world No 4 Gauff to prevail 6-1 6-1 when the two met on Court Manolo Santana the American sealing her place in a first clay-court WTA 1000 final Swiatek’s defeat was the second-heaviest she has ever faced on a clay court at WTA Tour level 6-0 loss to Simona Halep at the 2019 French Open – when she was just 18 years old It also continued a six-match losing streak in WTA Tour semi-finals having not reached a final or won a title since the French Open last June Asked to analyse her chastening defeat in her post-match press conference the world No 2 conceded that her performance had been “pretty bad” there’s nothing like to walk through because it was all pretty much the same from the beginning to the end “I couldn’t really get my level up I think it’s on me that I didn’t really move well Iga Swiatek set for huge WTA Rankings blow after shocking Madrid Open exit Swiatek was broken five times throughout the contest winning just 41% of her first serve points and 40% of points behind her second serve The Pole won only two points on Gauff’s first serve and was unable to generate a single break point throughout the match The five-time Grand Slam champion admitted she was unsure whether this was a one-off poor display or the continuation of a recent dip in form I don’t know now,” added Swiatek I feel like I haven’t been moving well and the tennis also was like on and off for most of the tournament “So I wasn’t really sure what I have in my tool box like I didn’t even have a plan B because nothing was working today.” Swiatek’s pathway through to the Madrid Open semi-final had been far from fluid with the defending champion pushed to a deciding set in three of her four previous matches She was forced to rally from a set and a break down to beat Alex Eala in her opening match and was then pushed to three sets by 13th seed Diana Shnaider in the fourth round Madison Keys handed her a bagel in the opening set of their quarter-final clash with the Italian Open getting underway next week 2 lifted the title in Rome twelve months ago and the tournament has historically been a happy hunting ground for her The 23-year-old will hope to finally end her 11-month wait to reach a WTA final and get back to winning ways ahead of her quest to win a fifth title at Roland Garros Read Next: WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka’s rival says she ‘is never winning a sportsman award’ after Madrid Open controversy Coco Gauff handed Iga Swiatek one of the most one-sided defeats of the Pole’s career as the American stormed into her first-ever Madrid Open final In an astonishing contest inside the Caja Magica, Gauff just dropped just two points behind her first serve and broke an erratic Swiatek five times on her way to a 6-1 Swiatek once had a commanding 11-1 lead in the head-to-head between the two women though Gauff now appears to be turning the tables with three straight wins Gauff beat Swiatek in the round-robin stage of the 2024 WTA Finals and the final of the United Cup back in January before Thursday’s lopsided affair in the Spanish capital “I think I was aggressive and played with margin,” said Gauff in her post-match interview “Maybe it wasn’t her [Swiatek’s] best level today but I kind of forced her into some awkward positions “Especially when you’re playing someone like Iga you know at any moment she could come back and play great tennis it was just making sure my level stayed the same “I knew in that second set I had to raise it [my level] so I’m really happy with how I played.” Casper Ruud matches stunning Rafael Nadal feat with Madrid Open quarter-final triumph Lorenzo Musetti achieves major rankings breakthrough with Madrid Open run The American previously reached the final of the 2023 Cincinnati Open and 2024 China Open is now the third-youngest player to reach WTA 1000 finals on clay and hard courts since the format was revamped in 2009 The world No 4 has also now handed Swiatek one of her worst-ever WTA Tour losses and her second-worst loss on clay in terms of games lost Swiatek’s worst ever defeat on the dirt came when she was an 18-year-old back at the 2019 French Open 6-0 to former world No 1 Simona Halep in the fourth round Gauff is now just the second player to drop fewer than five games on the clay against the Pole who has dominated on the clay in recent years the world No 2 has now failed to reach a final since lifting the 2024 French Open final and has lost her last six semi-finals on WTA Tour-level will now have to complete a significant reset ahead of the Italian Open in Rome Gauff will await to see whether she faces world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka or Elina Svitolina in Saturday’s final she will move above Swiatek and return to her career-high of world No 2 in the WTA Rankings MADRID -- Iga Swiatek survived "one of the weirdest matches" after losing the first six games before recovering to defeat Madison Keys 0-6 6-2 on Wednesday and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open The second-ranked Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the semifinals after the 21-year-old American beat teenager Mirra Andreeva in straight sets in the youngest WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2009 Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on center court "It was one of the weirdest matches I played," Swiatek said "Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn't really proactive with anything I let Maddie do more mistakes by just putting the ball back Swiatek said of going down 0-6 at the start of the match: "At least it was fast It was the first meeting between the two since Swiatek squandered a match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys Swiatek is trying to reach her third straight Madrid final. She beat Aryna Sabalenka last year after losing to her in 2023 Top-ranked Sabalenka needed two tiebreakers to advance, beating Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (4) Sabalenka will face 17th-seeded Elina Svitolina for a spot in the final. Svitolina beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-2 Gauff, ranked No. 4, got past seventh-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-5 Since the introduction of the WTA 1000 tier, only the 2009 Indian Wells quarterfinal between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Agnieszka Radwanska had a younger combined age Gauff recovered after being down a break at 5-4 in the first set "Off the ground I think I was dictating most of the rallies Both Gauff and Andreeva had been able to finish their matches in the previous round just before play was paused because of the major blackout that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday More than 20 matches had to be postponed at the Caja Magica tennis complex 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP 1000 tournament for the second time Arnaldi now has three consecutive wins against top-20 opponents for the first time in his career The Italian player will next face Jack Draper, who advanced by beating Tommy Paul 6-2 clinched his first ATP 1000 title in Indian Wells this year The Associated Press contributed to this report MADRID — Coco Gauff overpowered defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-1 to reach the Madrid Open singles final for the first time Gauff broke Swiatek’s serve three times in the first set and twice in the second to cruise to a 64-minute semifinal victory over the second-ranked Swiatek at the clay-court tournament “The mentality that I had in the whole match was aggressive,” the fourth-ranked Gauff said Gauff will face either top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka or Elina Svitolina in the final Casper Ruud advanced by defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3 “I looked at our stats last night and saw he beat me on grass “I tried to use the surface to my advantage I was impressed with Daniil’s ability to produce power here on clay.” who rallied to defeat teenager Jakub Mensik 3-6 Cerundolo had beaten top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the previous round The Madrid Open was disrupted because of the major blackout that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill creating a packed schedule the rest of the week A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome