Iga Swiatek: The Semifinal Curse Lives On

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek has found herself in an unwanted territory. Just one year ago, the Polish superstar was the best player in the world by a country mile. Her biggest rival was Aryna Sabalenka, who used to be second-best to the Polish player for most of their rivalry. However, much has changed since then, and Swiatek has relinquished her No.1 ranking to her great rival. But an even stranger thing has happened since.

Swiatek has lost every semifinal she has played since winning her fifth Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last year. Since the historic win in the Paris dirt, the Polish player has lost in the last four of every tournament on a combined six occasions. We will boil it down to what those occasions were.

The Paris Olympics: Where It All Started

After the French Open title win last year, many considered Swiatek the odds-on favorite for the Olympic Gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Despite the early stumble at Wimbledon, many considered the 23-year-old would back and again dominate the Paris dirt. However, Swiatek didn’t know what kind of a losing run she was about to get into. She reached the medal match against Qinwen Zheng but lost in a heartbreaking three-set thriller to the Chinese player. Many rumors claimed that Swiatek cried for many hours after that loss as she had to settle for a bronze medal.

After that, Swiatek made the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open, where she met Sabalenka. For the first time in the 2024 season, she came out second best to her great rival, losing 6-3, 6-3. This was when her hold on the World No. 1 ranking began to shake. Eventually, the five-time Grand Slam champion had to relinquish the top spot after Sabalenka’s dominant end to the season, featuring the US Open title.

Nothing Has Changed In 2025

In 2025, Swiatek came in with a point to prove. The Polish player improved on her last year’s performance at the Australian Open, reaching the semifinals. However, another heartbreak was upon her as she lost despite having a match point on serve against eventual champion Madison Keys.

Swiatek regrouped well after the Melbourne Grand Slam as she headed to Qatar. With a few notable wins, the World No. 2 appeared to have shrugged off Australia’s heartbreak. However, the semifinals against Jelena Ostapenko brought her another loss in a WTA event.

Eventually, Swiatek traveled to Indian Wells as the defending champion. The Polish player hoped to land her first title in a grand manner at the first Masters 1000 event of the season. The second seed reached the last four without dropping a set and looked to be on course to defend her title. However, the semifinal curse struck again as she lost in three sets to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.

After a year of heartbreak on hard court, Swiatek returned to her clay court habitat seeking redemption. At Madrid, she came in as the defending champion. Despite having edgy wins all the way through, she made it to the semifinals where she met Coco Gauff. Astonishingly, the Polish player couldn’t win more than two games in the semis. She lost in arguably the most lopsided match of her career.

Final Thoughts

Swiatek was expected to challenge Sabalenka for the World No. 1 ranking. However, the lack of titles under her belt in the past 12 months will only push her further away from the top spot. With further points to defend at the Italian Open and Roland Garros, the Polish player must find a way to break her semifinal curse if she wants to maintain her status let alone challenge for the World No. 1 ranking.