World No. 2 Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Australian Open after losing to Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals at Rod Laver Arena. With this loss, the Pole’s dreams of completing a career Grand Slam in 2026 came to an end.
While Swiatek put up a decent fight in the first set, she was blown away in the second by the reigning WTA Finals champion, who is aiming to reach the finals in Melbourne for only the second time in her career.
Swiatek had a lot to ponder after the crushing quarterfinal defeat and, in the post-game press conference, said she would focus on improving specific areas of her game, drawing an analogy to how Carlos Alcaraz changed his serve mechanics during the preseason.
“Well, some technical stuff, like that, has been pretty tough for me to have a smooth, you know, process in terms of changing them. I’m, like, I see Carlos [Alcaraz], for example, like, changing his serve every year, and for me it’s, like, one little thing takes a much longer time, so there is some stuff on the serve that I want to change,” Swiatek said.
“I already changed that, like, you know, in the preseason, but then the, you know, matches come, and you don’t have that much time to, like, think about this. You don’t want to think about these kinds of details when you play, so then it comes back to the old patterns,” she added.
“So, basically, I’ll focus on that, and I’ll see from there, because for sure, there is some stuff that I can change to play better, and I’ll try to do that in the following weeks and months,” Swiatek concluded.
Iga Swiatek Praised Rybakina for Upping the Ante in the Second Set
Admitting that the first set was fiercely competitive and decided by crucial rally points won by the Kazakh, Swiatek said she wasn’t evidently happy with the result of the match, but at the same time applauded Rybakina for raising her game in the second set to close out the match in style.
“Yeah, for sure, I’m not happy with the result. It was a high-intensity match, and the first set was tight. Like, a few points made the difference, but in the second set, for sure, like, she [Rybakina] improved the serve. She was going for the shots, and it got much tougher,” Swiatek said.
Furthermore, the Pole highlighted the crucial lessons she learned from the tournament and the aspects of her game she needed to work on. “Well, honestly, I know what I need to improve, and it’s kind of the same stuff that I had in my mind before the tournament as well,” Swiatek said.
“So there’s no, like, breakthrough lesson, you know. I’m just going to keep doing my job, and hopefully at the next tournament, I’ll get some stuff, you know, settled in terms of what I wanted to do with my game,” she added.
Swiatek could be next seen in action during one of the WTA events, which resume in February, while Rybakina turns her attention towards Jessica Pegula for a heavyweight semifinal clash at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
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