Iga Swiatek lost again to Coco Gauff in Madrid SF 16 16 and described why she has lost to Gauff three times in a row, a player she once held a dominating 11-1 head to head record against.
Question: Can you just walk us through the match and what you found most difficult today?
Iga: “Honestly, there’s nothing like to walk through because it was all pretty much the same from the beginning to the end. I couldn’t really get my level up. Coco played good, but, yeah, I think it’s, you know, on me that I didn’t really move well, I wasn’t ready to play back the shots with heaviness, and, yeah, with that kind of game like, yeah, it was pretty bad.”
Question: Is this a bad day at the office, or do you feel there is something more to get out of this?
Iga: “Honestly, I don’t know now. For sure I feel like I haven’t been moving well and, you know, the tennis also was like on and off, you know, for most of the tournament. So I wasn’t really sure what I have in my tool box, you know, but yeah, for sure, like I didn’t even have a plan B because nothing was working today…”
Coco artwork by Ted Dimond.
Coco Gauff · Iga Swiatek · Mutua Madrid Masters
catherine · May 6, 2025 at 11:29 am
I’ve rarely seen a top player like Swiatek collapse so completely. If ever. It’s like something got into her brain and just wiped it clean.
Ruud sent her a kindly message of sympathy. Nice.
Scoop Malinowski · May 6, 2025 at 11:35 am
Catherine, do you think her positive drug test and custom tailored short ban in late 2024 has anything to do with these alleged struggles? She may be a compromised player.
catherine · May 6, 2025 at 2:56 pm
I think a few things gradually started to slip for Iga over the past two or three years, culminating in the drug test and consequences. So I certainly think she’s struggling. I wonder how long Wim will stay around ?
Young people, maybe especially young women, can have a tough time coping with aspects of the pro tour – not always stuff they talk about.
Emma R has a good interview in the Guardian today, revealing about her background and how the pull of tennis competes with other parts of her life and her overall wish that the world be simpler.
Scoop Malinowski · May 6, 2025 at 3:23 pm
Catherine, Iga doesn’t sell tickets or move the needle but she is a fine, fantastic player when she’s “playing freely.” Her words. It’s kind of easy to see when she’s playing while chained up. This latest Raducanu interview doesn’t sound worth reading. Sounds like she wanted to make a press statement and put out a new scripted message.
catherine · May 7, 2025 at 3:02 am
Scoop – Emma is in Rome getting ready to play. And she doesn’t do ‘scripted’. She and some Brits were talking to the press. Emma discussed, among other things, how sheltered she had been growing up and some of the difficulties she experienced on the pro tour. When she and Leylah faced off in 2021 their backgrounds could not have been different.
catherine · May 7, 2025 at 5:10 am
Who is chaining up Iga ? Apart from Ostapenko ?
Otherwise, yes, she’s a great mover. Something’s wrong there.
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2025 at 7:24 am
Catherine, Raducanu is a smart girl, at this point she knows how the media game works and she’s using the media for her own advantage, she will not let the media exploit her or use her. Know what I mean?
Scoop Malinowski · May 7, 2025 at 7:25 am
Catherine, Iga tested positive and got a giftwrapped nothing suspension. She’s compromised.