Iga Swiatek admitted that she felt the pressure of expectations as she beat Elena Rybakina on Saturday to complete a Doha three-peat.
Having received a walkover against Karolina Pliskova in the semifinal on Friday, World No. 1 Swiatek was the fresher of the two players but made an unusually slow start, falling two breaks down.
However, the four-time Grand Slam champion recouped both breaks to force a tiebreak – where she saved a set point – before converting her fourth set point. With Rybakina’s challenge fading in the second set after squandering an early break opportunity, Swiatek dropped just two games to win her 18th singles title.
She has now won 24 of her last 25 sets – including the last 23 – in Doha, becoming the first player to win three straight titles. Nevertheless, in her on-court interview, the 22-year-old admitted that the weight of expectations ‘stressed’ her out:
“Oh my god guys. You don’t even know hard it was not to think about it. I came here and was pretty stressed because I felt the expectations.”
However, she’s proud of her efforts as she improves to 11-1 in 2024.
“I wanted to do everything step by step like I always do. I’m really happy. I’m really proud of myself.”
Meanwhile, despite her defeat, Rybakina remains the season leader with 15 wins.
