Iga Swiatek’s 2025 season got here to an finish this week, because the world No.2 fell in need of advancing from the group stage on the WTA Finals in Riyadh. And Swiatek isn’t precisely positive why. Regardless of feeling that she had ready and carried out nicely, Swiatek admitted she left the court docket with a puzzled feeling.
Talking overtly after the match, the 24-year-old described the unusual sensation of shedding an vital match and probably not understanding what went incorrect.
“Actually, I did every little thing I might at this time, so, like, no regrets. I felt like I had a optimistic mindset… I fought, and I actually didn’t quit. It wasn’t sufficient, which makes me unhappy,” Swiatek stated after falling to Amanda Anisimova for the second consecutive time, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2.
Swiatek stated she struggled to make sense of the loss not as a result of she felt she performed poorly, however as a result of she didn’t.
“I felt good mentally, bodily and tennis-wise… So I don’t actually get why I couldn’t exit of the group,” stated the six-time main champion, who opened her WTA Finals with a dominant win over Madison Keys earlier than falling to Elena Rybakina by the wild scorline of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in her second match.
On Wednesdsay in opposition to the American that she ruthlessly dispatched on this yr’s Wimbledon last, Swiatek felt she performed a lot better.
“If you do every little thing and it’s nonetheless not sufficient, I suppose it implies that you simply must get your tennis higher,” the Pole stated.
Then got here the road that sparked debate throughout the tennis world:
“I don’t know, perhaps I received an excessive amount of final yr and that is karma,” Swiatek provided.
Perhaps she’s proper? Perhaps Iga is like followers on Tennis Twitter, who consider in jinxes so devotedly that they name out anybody who speaks positively a couple of participant early in a match that she finally loses?
Uncertain, truly.
Social media could have overreacted to Swiatek’s remark about karma, however we’re not going to do this right here. She’s most likely referring to luck, which is a central a part of so many tennis matches. Tennis is a recreation of millimeters, and infrequently whether or not a ball ticks a line or a internet wire could make the distinction in a match. Typically you get the breaks, generally you don’t.
For Swiatek, the remark appeared much less about superstition and extra about acknowledging the emotional weight of expectations. It’s arduous to stay as much as them once you’ve featured because the tour’s most dominant participant and racked up six main titles and 125 weeks at No.1.
As Swiatek has grown as an individual and a participant, she’s gotten higher at coping with these pressures, as nicely.
Most vital? Swiatek appeared to take the defeat in stride. It’s time to decompress and revel in life as a Wimbledon champion for a number of weeks, earlier than on the point of gear up for an additional demanding season. There’s house cooking to he had, in any case. The aroma of her dad’s well-known pierogies will quickly be wafting via a festive kitchen in Poland.
“From my experiences, if I put a lot depth and grit and I care that a lot, often it sort of paid off. So we’ll see if I maintain working, if it’s gonna repay or not,” Swiatek stated.
Greatest guess is that there can be loads of payoffs to return for Swiatek in 2026 and past. She’s not executed taking the tennis world by storm, even when she has been reeled again in by the sphere a bit during the last two seasons.
When trying again on her 2025 season there may be one factor that may stick out above the remaining: the Wimbledon title highlighted all of Swiatek’s adaptability and the plain chemistry that she has been having fun with with coach Wim Fissette. It was a game-changing second for Swiatek, one that provides clear proof that she will be taught to win on any floor, and below any strain.
It received’t pay dividends each single week, however you possibly can relaxation assured that that title at SW19 will maintain wind in Swiatek’s sails for a few years to return. At six main titles and counting on the age of 24, the longer term appears to be like shiny for Iga, even when her season led to so-called karmic disappointment.
