‘Iga Swiatek has unravelled – it’s like the computer is malfunctioning’
Iga Swiatek’s shockingly one-sided loss to Coco Gauff at the 2025 Madrid Open has been analysed by two former British players and tennis pundits.
Gauff demolished Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid to claim her first win on clay against the 23-year-old Polish star.
Swiatek was broken five times and won only six points across Gauff’s seven service games.
The defeat ended Swiatek’s title defence in the Spanish capital and extended her run without winning a tournament; she has not reached a final since securing her fourth French Open crown in June last year.
Annabel Croft, who was ranked as high as 24th on the WTA Tour, gave her verdict on Swiatek’s struggles.
“She was very dominant at this stage last year, and we were looking at — thinking how can players stay on court with her on a clay court because she was just a level above everybody else, but she has unravelled,” the former British No 1 told Sky Sports.
“And there’s been multiple occasions recently where she’s lost to players you wouldn’t expect her to. Okay, this Coco Gauff one is a different calibre of player ’cause she’s a US Open champion and she’s also been to the finals of the French Open on the clay courts.
“But even so, I think when the forehand goes, it goes big time and it’s almost like she can’t stop the rot. It’s like the computer is malfunctioning and it needs a reboot, and she starts to get more and more panicky and she rushes through.
“She’s such an intense competitor, every time she walks onto court there’s sort of stress levels, you can feel it coursing thorough her veins and I think she gets very, very stressed out there.
“So, it is a bit back to the drawing board, but of course it’s quite a crucial time for her because she’s gonna go towards Rome, where she won there as well, and then the French Open, where she won there.
“So she’s defending huge amounts of points but also a Grand Slam title. She’s a perfectionist, this is not where she wants her tennis to be, so very interesting times to watch what happens with her.”
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Colin Fleming, a former world No 17 in doubles, agreed that Swiatek’s forehand is the biggest concern.
“Swiatek was out of sorts, she really looked like she was struggling on her forehand,” he assessed.
“I couldn’t believe the number of errors that she was making on her forehand, and rushing between points.
“Most players have a shot that they almost need to go well to dictate their whole performance and their whole mindset. For Swiatek, it’s her forehand.
“And working with [Wim] Fissette, if the forehand isn’t there and she’s not getting the right message from what’s still a relatively new partnership, then the frustration is obviously spilled onto the match court today.
“And it was unbelievable for a player of that level, she almost looked like she wanted off the court in the second set, it just happened so quickly. It was such a shocking performance, so there’s a lot to figure out in that team.”
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