Iga Swiatek Explains What Went Wrong in French Open Loss

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Pat Benson | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 2:03 PM ET

On Thursday afternoon, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Iga Swiatek in three sets in the French Open semifinals: 7-6, 4-6, 6-0. The loss ended Swiatek's title defense, 26-match win streak at Roland Garros, and disappointing clay court season.

The press room in Paris was packed for Swiatek's post-match press conference. For just under nine minutes, international media peppered Swiatek with a wide array of questions.

Swiatek said of her 2025 French Open campaign, "Well, I played some quality matches. Now is probably not the best time to look at the wider perspective. Yeah, so probably wasn't a bad tournament. But like you said, not the result I wanted."

When asked what happened in the third set, Swiatek said, "I remember missing two backhands when she broke me first time. She still served really well. I feel like I served the same, and she read my serve much better," said Swiatek.

She continued, "I probably won less points on the return. I really don't know. I think I lost my attention a bit, and she played pretty strong like in the first set, but I didn't react to that well and couldn't push back."

Catherine Whitaker of The Tennis Podcast followed up on that point later in the press conference, asking if her lack of intensity was physical or mental/emotional and if Swiatek could feel it during the match.

The question seemed to stump Swiatek. "I think it's more physical." Swiatek pivoted to explain that Sabalenka "really went for it" during the third set, meaning she played more aggressively.

When asked about the upcoming grass court season, Swiatek said, "I'm going to have few days off, but the coaches will plan that."

"Hopefully, we're going to have some decent kind of little preseason on grass because it's always been pretty hard to have that, especially when I want to be a little bit home. But I don't feel like I need to be home right now, so maybe I'll go somewhere in Europe, practice," said Swiatek.

The grass court season is already underway for some players, so Swiatek will not have much time off before transitioning to her least favorite playing surface. She has a record of 32-10 with zero titles this year.

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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