Iga Swiatek recently shared her views on her losing record against Jelena Ostapenko.
Swiatek was last seen in action at the 2023 US Open, where she faced a fourth-round defeat at the hands of Ostapenko. The Latvian staged a tremendous 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 comeback against the tournament’s defending champion, which resulted in the Pole losing her World No. 1 ranking.
This was Swiatek’s fourth straight loss to Ostapenko in their four-match rivalry.
In a recent interview with Eurosport, Iga Swiatek touched upon Jelena Ostapenko’s perfect record against her. She said that Ostapenko makes her ‘uncomfortable’ on the court, which is why she doesn’t like playing against her.
The World No. 2 further guessed that the Latvian particularly enjoys her game style.
“I don’t like playing with Ostapenko. There are simply some players who are uncomfortable to play with. I bet she has the opposite situation and she especially likes my style,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said.
Iga Swiatek, however, went on to suggest that she is unfazed by the string of defeats and is eager to move on.
“This is completely natural in tennis. There is no point in falling into a catastrophe, we have to move forward,” she said.
“I don’t need to defend anything” – What Iga Swiatek said following her US Open 2023 loss
The Pole at the 2023 US Open
This season, Iga Swiatek was able to defend only three of her eight titles from 2022 – the Qatar Open, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and the French Open. She won an additional title at the Poland Open.
Swiatek failed to defend her WTA 1000 Miami Open title, pulling out of the tournament due to injury. She also did not retain her Indian Wells and Rome titles as she crashed out against eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals and the quarterfinals, respectively.
The 2023 US Open was the fourth title this year that Iga Swiatek was unable to defend. She also did not take part in the recently concluded WTA 500 San Diego Open and thus could not defend that title either.
Following her US Open exit, the 22-year-old reflected on her season and called out the media for focusing on her titles and ranking defense.
“Last 1.5 year was a time of observing and experiencing how much people talk and write about “defending”, “defense” – of titles, ranking position, points… I was surprised sometimes to start to think this way because of this. But… I don’t need to defend anything,” Swiatek wrote on Instagram.
“During this year’s US swing I could win and achieve more, that’s for sure. I know some of you expected more, many of you expected “defending” the no 1 ranking, the title,” she added.
Swiatek then reiterated that she would be focusing on creating chances to win tournaments throughout the season rather than merely defending her titles from the previous year.
“But I stick to my mindset: when I work hard, I’m developing myself and doing my job, I will create many more chances to WIN, to ACHIEVE my goals and not to defend. The way to do it is to constantly focus on my high standards in what I do,” she said.
Iga Swiatek will next be in action at the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific in Japan, Tokyo.