Iga Swiatek‘s run at the WTA Finals is not going as planned. While the former World No.1 had a good start, with a win over Barbora Krejčíková, contrary to expectations, the Pole didn’t have an easy run against the Czech player. However, Iga’s winning streak couldn’t extend further after an unexpected loss to Coco Gauff on Tuesday. The defeat has left the Polish tennis icon extremely disappointed. Well, now she’s revealed the actual reason behind a poor show against Gauff.

Coco Gauff managed to earn a comfortable win over Iga on November 5th. She won 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets, thus leaving the Polish player no chance to make a comeback. It was special for Gauff since she beat Swiatek for the first time in 2024. Also, it was just the second occasion in her career that she outplayed the Pole in a match out of their 13 encounters. Following the result, Iga was asked to react to her performance and the possible reasons behind the loss.

It’s worth noting that this is Świątek’s first tournament since the US Open, while Gauff has already competed in two, China Open and Wuhan Open. Per the five-time Grand Slam champion, “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,” said the Pole in an interview with Canal+ sport, as reported by Sport.Pl.

Adding further, she revealed 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.”

Iga made some surprising errors during the defeat. Quite uncharacteristically, she committed 47 unforced errors. This is something fans are not used to seeing from the five-time Grand Slam champion. The Pole had a chance to turn the tables after losing the first set. In the second, she was even leading 4:3 with a break, but after a while, she lost her serve.

Referring to that, Iga said, “Of course, my serve is sometimes unstable. But that’s just how it is sometimes. I had the impression that it was uncomfortable to serve. It limited my possibilities on the court. Many times when I train, I don’t have such feelings, but when a bit of match stress comes, the body reacts a bit differently. I’m just a bit out of the habit of it and I didn’t act as quickly to prevent it as usual. There were games where I served great, there were games where I suddenly felt strange. Next time I’ll try to make it more stable.”

Explaining further about what went wrong, Iga elaborated, “We (coach Wim Fissette) both noticed what mistakes I made. I think I didn’t rotate the ball enough, because towards the end I played flat and forcefully, which is not my style. However, because of the fact that I am ‘rusty in the head’, I made the same mistakes when approaching the ball. I have to force myself so that next time it won’t be like that.”

Meanwhile, Iga is now focusing on making a return with her next match. According to her, analyzing the match against Coco will give her a clear idea about the mistakes she made and as she put it, it would not be much difficult. She has played Coco previously and can compare those to the latest match. “I will make even more of an effort to be more disciplined and I think that thanks to this, I will have a more stable level throughout the match,” she said. But the lack of match practice is something that an analyst had pointed out nearly a month back.

Since the US Open, Iga has pulled out from every tournament that came her way. The last among those was the Wuhan Open, that would have been Iga’s final chance for getting some real time action before the WTA finals. Early in October, Adam Romer from the “Tenisklub” magazine had indicated that.

“Usually, you can see that she needs a little run-up to get into top shape after returning to play. The tournament in China may allow her to get into rhythm. The lack of performances before Riyadh could make it difficult for her to do well in the WTA Finals,” Romer had explained. His words indeed look to be true. Meanwhile, a disappointing outcome at the ongoing event may also put Iga’s performance in jeopardy in one more upcoming tournament.

Poland is taking part in the final of the Billie Jean King Cup from 13 to 20 November in Malaga, Spain. Initially there was uncertainty about Iga’s participation in the event. In the line-up announced by captain Dawid Celt previously, the leader of the team was Magdalena Frech, currently the second Polish tennis player in the WTA ranking (32nd place).

Apart from her, there were Magda Linette (43rd WTA), Maja Chwalinska (176th WTA), and Katarzyna Kawa (221st WTA). But the fifth place was vacant. “No decisions have been made yet regarding Iga’s participation in the Billie Jean King Cup tournament,” her manager had said back then.

However, on October 22, Iga took to her X to confirm her participation in the event. “See you in Malaga! I’m happy to announce that I will play in the BJKC Finals, I’m glad that I’ll play for my country and proudly represent Poland,” she had written. Notably, last year, after winning the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, thrashing Jessica Pegula, Iga announced her decision to pull out of the Billie Jean King Cup. She had stated that having to travel from Mexico to Glasgow, Scotland, in a 12-hour window was “not safe for our health.” Amid all, it seems like the Polish star is not the actual title favorite this time in Riyadh.

Iga Swiatek is not a favorite to win the WTA Finals

Ahead of the tournament in Riyadh, Iga made a huge decision to split from her previous coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski. Not long after that, she announced a new partnership with Belgian trainer Wim Fissette. However, it seems like he won’t be able to solve all the problems for Iga as far as making improvements is concerned.

According to the Eurosport commentator and former Polish tennis player Lech Sidor, “Fissette was always a very good analyst. He made good tactical plans, but he didn’t get into technical nuances. He wasn’t a fan of big changes, he preferred to come a bit ready-made. He’s not a man who has been introducing a revolution so far. What will happen to Iga? I think that following a similar path may not be enough to maintain the level and continue winning Grand Slam tournaments.”

Furthermore, tennis bigwig Marek Furjan recently revealed that Iga is not his favorite to lift the title in 2024. Per him, “The Polish woman is not the main favorite to win the WTA Finals, Aryna Sabalenka will play this role in Riyadh.” Similarly, former player Coco Wanderweghe also believes that Iga may not emerge victorious in the season finale. She said, “I think Iga’s been so dominant but such a question mark with the new coach and how is she feeling.”

Now speaking of her journey going forward, Swiatek will need to win the remaining matches convincingly. It’s also crucial to regain her top spot in the WTA rankings. Currently, Aryna Sabalenka is ruling the list. Thanks to her consecutive victories in the ongoing event, and before it, the Belarusian has solidified her grip on the No.1 position. For Iga to snatch it back, she’ll have to win the WTA Finals trophy. That’s the only way to end the season as the top-ranked player once again.

Do you think the Pole will be able to make a strong comeback in the tournament after her loss to Coco Gauff? Let us know in the comments below.