Iga Swiatek’s journey at the WTA Finals has been anything but smooth. Despite a hard-fought win over Barbora Krejcikova in her opening match, Swiatek stumbled on Tuesday, falling to Coco Gauff in a match that had fans talking. This unexpected defeat has raised a few eyebrows, especially around her current form, with tennis experts and fans alike speculating about what’s going on with the former World No. 1. Among those voicing concerns is former American star Coco Vandeweghe, who’s keeping a close eye on Swiatek’s performance. 

The 32-year-old engaged in an interview on the Tennis Channel Live Podcast for its November 5th episode. She deliberated on a wide range of topics including the WTA Finals where Swiatek failed to win her second match against Gauff. Vandeweghe highlighted that while the match was intriguing and challenging for both players, Swiatek’s recent struggles kept her on a back foot. 

Speaking in the interview, she said, “What’s really interesting about the serve is Coco only had two double faults in the opening set. Out of the blue, first service game in the second set gets three, and halts for serve, and in the next game, gets 3 more double faults.” Remember, in her straight-set victory against Swiatek, Gauff shot a total of 11 double faults and struggled quite a bit in the match. However, Vandeweghe highlighted that she managed to keep her composure intact which helped her clinch the match.

“She started looking at her support team, hands up in the air, started mumbling but was able to then stay calm. That’s really tough to do against Iga Swiatek. It was kind of a tricky match for both players because Iga hasn’t played since the US Open losing to Pegula in the quarterfinals,” the former-pro said further. Remember, after her US Open quarterfinal exit and parting ways with longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, the former world no. 1 failed to return to the courts and missed the Asian Swing entirely. And even after her return, she lost in the second match itself. This gained further concern from Vandeweghe who said, “She’s got new coach as well, so they are actually dealing with a lot right now, at this time of the season.” The defeat, meanwhile, was indeed surprising for Swiatek too.

 Swiatek was playing only her second match ever since she joined forces with her new coach Wim Fissette. However, she did not manage to win a match against an opponent who had lost 11 matches of their 12 encounters, before the one that came in Riyadh. Besides, it also jolted Swiatek’s hope of regaining the No. 1 spot dethroning Aryna Sabalenka for which she was compelled to win all the matches in the tournament. And Swiatek herself opened up about what caused the major setback for her. 

Iga Swiatek makes heartfelt confession about her latest defeat

Iga Swiatek has proved her mettle on court but her latest match depicted her vulnerable side. The 5-time Grand Slams champion witnessed troublesome situations and despite the flaws made by Gauff, she failed to return to the match. Discussing the same, she made an honest admission and revealed how her aspirations and the results failed to align with each other. 

Speaking in the interview after winning the match, Swiatek said, “I think that a person is not able to create such an atmosphere during training, even though I trained for several weeks at a high level, as during a match. Some things have to be worked through only on the court.” Continuing further, she shared that “after the match with Krejcikova, I thought that I had prepared myself physically and mentally and that when I go out today, I would have what I usually have – concentration and discipline. But that was not entirely the case.”

Swiatek is now preparing to face Jessica Pegula in her next match against whom Swiatek lost in the US Open this year. Will she avenge her previous defeat? Well, only time will tell but what remains certain is an intense showdown.