Świątek doesn't particularly like to dwell on the more beautiful, but neither do she like the more difficult, moments. And after a wonderful Wimbledon, there are days she can more easily treat that way.
On Sunday night, Polish time, the 24-year-old from Raszyn was no match for the top-performing Clara Tauson in Canada. The Dane demonstrated why she had previously defeated stars like Aryna Sabalenka and Jelena Rybakina this season. She also found a way to defeat Świątek, unexpectedly significantly shortening her run in the Land of the Maple Leaf.
Out of necessity, Iga had to move to Cincinnati sooner, where she will commemorate the anniversary of a sad and, from her perspective, unjust anti-doping violation. On August 12, 2024, she tested positive there, testing positive for trace amounts of trimethadyzine. As a result, her achievements from the tournament in Ohio were later disqualified, and she was stripped of 390 points and $159,000. Fortunately, everything ultimately worked out for the Polish athlete, and the case didn't derail her career. Now, she can avenge these dramatic moments.
There is no talk about Iga Świątek's crisis The motivation will be doubled, as the first clash with the concrete in Montreal after the grass break didn't go as planned. After two very good matches, something went wrong in the third, although of course this stumble can't be considered a crisis. However, a single, slightly below-average performance and her opponent's excellent form resulted in defeat.
"I was wrong too often on shots that I normally play calmly. I made too many mistakes, especially in the tiebreak. In the second set, I saw that Clara was already gaining momentum, and I couldn't solve my problems. I definitely wasn't perfect. I still feel like I need to get used to hard courts. I have the impression that the situation is a bit similar to March, when I also played on this surface," she analyzed her first start after moving overseas. She added that, fortunately, she had a few days to prepare for the next event.
Iga Świątek and Anastazja Potapova (Photo: Tim Clayton / Contributor / Getty Images) Ultimately, none of the top seeds—not Coco Gauff, not Iga, not Jessica Pegula, and finally Mirra Andreyeva—qualified for the quarterfinals in Montreal. However, 18-year-old Victoria Mboko and Naomi Osaka, who had been given new life by coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, finished high. "I'll be seeded at the US Open," the Japanese player rejoiced like a child. While she wouldn't have mentioned it before, now she was prattling on about it like crazy. Even though she lost the final to the talented Canadian 6-2, 4-6, 1-6.
Iga was already in Cinci at the time. She's preparing for a completely new season there. Firstly, the tournament will be held in a modernized and expanded facility. Secondly, the bracket will be expanded to 96 players. Thirdly, the players will be slightly reshuffled. Defending champion Sabalenka will return, but Andreeva will be missing. Qinwen Zheng, who will miss the US Open after elbow surgery, is also still out, as are Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur. Świątek, who is playing with the top three, will begin her competition with a match against Anastasia Potapova and may then face Marta Kostiuk (No. 25). She was placed in Sabalenka's half.
An important tournament for Magda Linette and Magdalena Fręch We're also counting on Magdalena Fręch and Magda Linette at the Cincinnati Open. The Łódź player (No. 22) will face Sorana Cirstea, while the Poznań player (No. 31) will face Caroline Dolehide or Rebecca Šramková. In previous tournaments, Magda's teams have fallen quickly, so this event is crucial for them. This is especially important for the latter, who has lost four of her last five matches.
