Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the reigning WTA ranking leader, saw her dreams of extending her remarkable streak come crashing down. The young Pole fell to the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in a fiercely contested match. The final score, 3:6, 6:3, 6:1, not only spelled Swiatek’s exit from the tournament but also relinquished her coveted top spot in the WTA rankings to Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek’s encounter with Jelena Ostapenko marked the beginning of her 75th week as the WTA ranking leader, an incredible achievement for the 22-year-old. To continue her historic run, she needed to overcome the formidable Latvian, who had previously bested her in all three of their previous encounters.
The first game saw Swiatek losing her serve, only to regain her composure in the next game. However, the intensity soon subsided until the sixth game, where Ostapenko broke through the deadlock. While Ostapenko managed to win a game, Swiatek proved ruthless with her own serve, promising a favourable outcome after 40 minutes of play.
The second set took an unfortunate turn for Swiatek as she faced an early 3:0 deficit, thanks to Ostapenko’s solid first service and error-minimizing strategies. Swiatek found a glimmer of hope in the seventh game, dominating her opponent and narrowing the gap. But despite a break-point opportunity for Swiatek, Ostapenko held her nerve and eventually secured the set.
The third set was a masterclass in aggression from Ostapenko, who quickly raced to a 5:0 lead. Swiatek made an admirable attempt to claw back, breaking Ostapenko’s serve, but her opponent’s relentless aggression proved too much to handle. After an intense battle lasting an hour and 49 minutes, Swiatek had to concede defeat, not only exiting the tournament but also surrendering her top-ranking status to Aryna Sabalenka.
Iga Swiatek – Jelena Ostapenko 1-2 (6-3, 3-6, 1-6)