What Exactly Happened to Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals?
Well, that was something. In what can only be described as a spectacular implosion, Iga Swiatek, the former World No. 1 who has been dishing out bagels and breadsticks like a disgruntled baker all season, completely crumbled against Elena Rybakina at the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh. It was the kind of match that makes you check if you’re watching a replay from an alternate universe.
Let’s set the scene. Swiatek has been on a tear, a one-woman wrecking crew on the WTA Tour. So, when she stepped onto the court against Rybakina, everyone expected a battle, sure, but not this. Not a full-scale meltdown that saw her lose 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. Yes, you read that right. After looking like her dominant self in the first set, Swiatek simply… vanished.
So, How Did Swiatek Go from Dominant to Dormant?
After clinching the first set 6-3, it looked like business as usual for Swiatek. She was intense, she was focused, and Rybakina seemed to be struggling to keep up. But then, something shifted. It was as if Rybakina flipped a switch, and suddenly, she couldn’t miss. The ball just kept coming back, harder and faster than before.
In the second and third sets, Swiatek hit a staggering 36 unforced errors. It was a complete reversal of fortune. The player who had been surgically dismantling opponents was now spraying balls everywhere. She lost the last nine games of the match and 11 of the last 12. In the final set, she won a measly 12 points. It was a shocking collapse, the kind that has you rubbing your eyes and questioning reality. Rybakina, for her part, was a machine, hitting 15 winners to just seven unforced errors in that decisive third set.
What the Experts Are Saying About Swiatek’s Collapse
Serena Williams’s former coach, Rennae Stubbs, didn’t mince words. She jumped on X (formerly Twitter, for those of you living under a rock) to break down the train wreck. “Rybakina not missing anything now. Making a lot more shots in court and Iga forcing when it’s not there,” Stubbs noted. It was a simple but brutal assessment. Rybakina found her rhythm, and Swiatek tried to force her way out of trouble, which only made things worse.
Stubbs went on to point out what she sees as a recurring, fatal flaw in Swiatek’s game. “Iga not mixing anything is what kills her in these types of matches,” she added. Ouch. When Plan A isn’t working, you need a Plan B, and according to Stubbs, Swiatek just kept hammering away with the same strategy, hoping for a different result. It’s the classic definition of insanity, just played out on a tennis court with millions watching.
Can Swiatek Still Bounce Back?
Miraculously, yes. Despite this epic face-plant, Swiatek isn’t out of the tournament just yet. Thanks to the bizarre, beautiful world of round-robin formats, her fate is still in her hands. She defeated Madison Keys in straight sets earlier, and she managed to win a set against Rybakina, which could be crucial.
Now, it all comes down to her final group stage match against Amanda Anisimova. If she wins, she has a strong chance of qualifying for the semifinals. Heck, she could even qualify if she loses, depending on how the other matches play out and the tie-breaker math works. It could come down to sets won, or even games won. So, while it was an embarrassing performance, it wasn’t a fatal one. At least not yet.
For Rybakina, this victory is a massive statement. She broke a four-match losing streak against Swiatek and secured her spot in the semis. “I pushed myself,” she said in her post-match interview, which is the understatement of the year. She didn’t just push herself; she went full Super Saiyan.
The big question now is whether this was just a blip on the radar for Iga Swiatek or a sign of a deeper issue. Was it just a bad day at the office, or is her one-dimensional approach, as Stubbs suggested, a real Achilles’ heel? We’ll find out soon enough. For now, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the drama
