Everything Iga Swiatek said after her loss to Jelena Ostapenko at the Stuttgart Open
Iga Swiatek has reacted to her sixth straight loss to Jelena Ostapenko and responded to a reporter who claimed she looked “irritated” during the match.
The five-time major champion fell 3-6, 6-3, 2-6 to Ostapenko in the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart.
It was Swiatek‘s second defeat to the 27-year-old Latvian in 2025 after a heavy 3-6, 1-6 loss in the Qatar Open semi-finals in February.
Remarkably, Ostapenko now holds a 6-0 record against Swiatek.
Here is everything Swiatek said in her post-match press conference.
MODERATOR: Iga, just talk us through your thoughts on the match, and particularly how you got back into that match in that second set.
SWIATEK: Well, for sure I’m happy with the second set. Disappointed that I couldn’t hold my level in the first games of third set, because I think for sure it was important. But, you know, I kept fighting. Yeah.
Q. What were, in your opinion, the differences between this match and the one you played in Doha against her?
SWIATEK: I think my head was much more clear, and I was looking for solutions and I found them. Even though I started being a little bit tense, you know, in the first set, I managed to recover well and that was the difference.
Q. Just one question, which puzzles me, because you’re such a big fighter and such a wonderful player and you win almost against everybody. Why on earth can’t you win against Ostapenko? What is it that sort of irritates you, obviously? Because you win against everybody else.
SWIATEK: Did I look irritated today?
Q. Yes.
SWIATEK: Much more than when I lose overall?
Q. No, I mean, is there something that do you explain it to yourself?
SWIATEK: Well, I think today was a tight match, so for sure I had my chances to win. Before, like, for sure, like, these matches were different. Like, she went for it and she was smashing every ball kind of perfectly. Today she didn’t, she made some mistakes. I had my chances. I just didn’t use them.
Q. Iga, did you approach the match differently from a technical point of view, tactical?
SWIATEK: Honestly, I wasn’t able to play anything before, like, any tactics. No, it was pretty simple, and I knew what I need to do. I did that in the second set, so it was just a matter of, like, keeping it for the whole match.
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Q. I have to ask about the serve, because I felt at the beginning was probably struggling, but then, like, in the second half of the second set, 3-All, she was coming back from 1-3, and you started to feel better with the serve overall, or was just probably the beginning you were probably feeling a bit more the kind of return that Ostapenko can hit?
SWIATEK: Well, overall I felt better with my serve. So that’s what I was happy about, you know, that I managed to pull myself out from, like, serving really bad in the first set. So I just wanted to hold onto it. Yeah, like, I remember, like, it was pretty clear, you know, in the second set, but in the third, like, probably I over-thinked it a little bit in the beginning. But again, I started playing well in the middle of the third set, as well. So I just didn’t use my opportunities to break back after a bad start of the third set.
Q. I have one technical question, I guess. You have played lots of times here against Aryna, which is also a big hitter. What’s the difference, from your point of view, between Aryna and Jelena when talking about the playing style?
SWIATEK: I mean, there are many differences. Aryna plays a little bit more logical and she spins the ball, so it’s not like she smashes out of control. Jelena plays much more risky and with less spin, so, yeah, there are many differences.
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