Iga Swiatek made an unsuccessful return to tour after two weeks. She had not played a match since the early loss at the US Open. Swiatek had said that she was badly affected by the loss, which also made her lose the top spot in the rankings. Things did not go well at the Japan Open as Swiatek lost the quarterfinal match to Veronika Kudermetova in three sets.
The fans were expecting a positive result from the match. The world No. 2 received backlash from her fans as she also struggled in the opening round against qualifier Mai Hontama. Fans began speculating that she had been affected by rankings. One fan commented, “Iga’s time is up. No slam next year for her.” Swiatek is having a bitter experience on the tour. She has to get out of this phase before the start of the next season.
Iga’s form has been terrible since Wimbledon https://t.co/dVmmoBPHsp
— The Stray God (@jensen_elizz) September 29, 2023
Wow. Veronika with the upset. Do you guys think Iga’s loss in the US Open and no 1 ranking is affecting her confidence? https://t.co/nZuA55ryCK
— gwongfit (@gwongfit) September 29, 2023
Kudermetova had faced Swiatek four times prior to this match and had not won a single set in those meetings. She had never won more than four games in a set against Swiatek before this match. In their last three meetings, the Russian had won four games in total against the Polish player. With only a few events left in the season, Swiatek has to get back to her old self and finish the season like she intends to.
Iga Swiatek hopes to turn defeat into a lesson in the Asian series
The Asian series has not ended yet, as there are still two events left: the WTA 1000 China Open and the WTA 500, Zhengzhou Open. The events will be the last opportunity for the players to accumulate rankings before the year-end championships. Swiatek has already qualified for the event but has to improve her current form.
The 22-year-old will now keep her focus on Beijing, where she can play in the China Open. Swiatek will not receive a bye in the event as she could not reach the quarterfinals at the Japan Open. She will get a few weeks after her stint in Beijing. The WTA finals will be conducted at the end of October in Mexico. The finals will be the most important event for Swiatek to reclaim her position as the top player on tour.
Main draw at China Open, the last WTA 1000 tournament of the season.
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are the top seeds.
The byes go to the four Tokyo semifinalists as performance byes: Pegula, Sakkari, Kudermetova, Pavlyuchenkova. pic.twitter.com/slShXhHI6v
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 29, 2023
The four-time grand slam champion cannot be easily wiped off the tour. After a string of losses, Swiatek will be eager to prove the crowd wrong again in the upcoming weeks on tour. She needs to carry the grand slam attitude to all the events to bring back the dominance.