Iga Swiatek set for rankings blow after Mirra Andreeva ends Indian Wells title defence
Iga Swiatek is set to lose ground to Aryna Sabalenka in the battle for world No 1 after falling to Mirra Andreeva in her Indian Wells semi-final.
Defending champion Swiatek was beaten 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 by ninth seed Andreeva in their last four clash, having previously been defeated by the 17-year-old at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month.
Defeat for Swiatek ended the Pole’s 10-match winning streak of the desert and halted her title defence, alongside preventing her from becoming the first woman to win the title three times.
Victory for Andreeva powers her into a second straight WTA 1000 final, having ultimately gone on to win the title in Dubai.
“I just went for all my shots,” said the Russian.
“My serve was great, and, you know, just felt super comfortable and super confident during the tiebreak. I kind of played on a roll.
“But then the second set, it was a bit weird, but I can say that I really tried to do something, but I just felt like she literally overplayed me, because she was playing pretty deep with good height over the net. It was really hard to do something with these shots.
“I just tried to hang in there and do something. And after, I went on a toilet break. I started to think what can I change?
“And after, I just decided to kind of still play the same but maybe go for my shots more, trying to play a little bit more aggressive, and in the end, you know, I got the win, so I feel great.
“I feel also that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself.”
Andreeva is set to hit a new career-high of world No 8 thanks to her run – and would rise to world No 6 if she were to beat Sabalenka in Sunday’s final.
World No 1 Sabalenka was emphatic in her semi-final clash, ending Madison Keys’ 16-match win streak with an astonishing 6-1, 6-0 win over her Australian Open final conqueror.
Victory for the Belarusian, coupled with defeat for Swiatek, will lead to a significant swing when it comes to the battle for top spot on the WTA Tour.
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Sabalenka already held a notable advantage, with 9,076 ranking points prior to the tournament compared to 7,985 for world No 2 Swiatek.
However, having failed to defend her title, Swiatek will drop 610 ranking points and will fall to 7,375 points come Monday’s ranking update.
In contrast, Sabalenka is set for a significant surge – having already bettered her fourth-round exit from 2024.
Having reached her second Indian Wells final, Sabalenka has already earned 530 ranking points and moves up to 9,606 points in the WTA Live Rankings.
Should she win the tournament for the first time on Sunday, the Belarusian will hold a staggering 9,956 ranking points come Monday.
That would mean a 2,581-point gap between the world No 1 and world No 2 from next week, making a return to No 1 for Swiatek difficult over the coming months.
Swiatek will next be in action at the Miami Open, where she won the title in 2022.
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