(Video) Iga Swiatek covers her face and cries uncontrollably during one sided loss against Coco Gauff at Madrid Open

Defending champion Iga Swiatek faced one of her worst defeats on clay at the 2025 Madrid Open semifinals.

(Video) Iga Swiatek covers her face and cries uncontrollably during one sided loss against Coco Gauff at Madrid Open

Iga Swiatek was heartbroken (images via X)

Iga Swiatek survived a huge scare from Madison Keys in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, who bagelled her for the first time in four years, before she went on to face Coco Gauff in the semifinals. Entering the semifinals, Swiatek had an 11-3 head-to-head record against Gauff. Moreover, the Pole was 5-0 against Gauff on clay, her favorite surface.

However, Gauff turned the tables this time, handing the defending champion one of her worst defeats on clay. Although Swiatek won the first game, Gauff scored the first break of serve in Swiatek’s second service game and went on to win 11 consecutive games.

Swiatek’s frustration was evident in the second set when she was called for an uncharacteristic code violation for an audible obscenity. Towards the end, it did seem like Swiatek would once again get bagelled, however, trailing at 5-0, Swiatek finally held serve, but Gauff shortly sealed the victory 6-1, 6-1.

Gauff lost only two points on her first serve and finished with seven aces. The 21-year-old won 57 of 83 points and didn’t face a break point. She finished with 18 winners and only four unforced errors. Meanwhile, Swiatek had seven winners and 21 unforced errors.

When Swiatek was trailing 3-0, she put a towel on her head and looked very disheartened. The World No. 2 has had a very heartbreaking season and has not reached a final since her 2024 Roland Garros triumph.

Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud made a sweet gesture as he reacted to the tweet of Swiatek, disheartened, with a towel on her head. He called her an inspiration and expressed his hope that she would come back stronger than ever.

Coco Gauff is into her first Madrid Open final

Coco Gauff has reached her first final of the season at the Madrid Open. She had an otherwise disappointing season where she had only made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Stuttgart Open and delivered a rather poor performance in the Middle East swing and Sunshine swing. She had also dipped in rankings from World no. 3 to World No. 4.

Coco Gauff 1
Coco Gauff (Image via X/The Tennis Podcast)

In the Madrid Open finals, Gauff will face either Elina Svitolina or Aryna Sabalenka. This also marks the first Madrid Open final for the American. Gauff overcame Mirra Andreeva, Belinda Bencic, Ann Li, and Dayana Yastremska in the prior rounds of the tournament.

Iga Swiatek set for huge WTA Rankings blow after shocking Madrid Open exit

Iga Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka in an extraordinary final to clinch her maiden Madrid Open title twelve months ago. This put her under notable pressure as the reigning champion in 2025. The Pole earned 1,000 ranking points for her victory in 2024, and came into this year’s event with a total of 7,383 points.

Iga Swiatek Miami Open 2025
Iga Swiatek (Image via X @JJlovesTennis)

Her semifinal run in 2025 earned her 390 points, though that means 610 points will drop from her ranking when the WTA Rankings update next Monday (May 5th). Swiatek will hold 6,773 ranking points when the rankings update. This puts her ranking in a very precarious position, especially if Coco Gauff wins the tournament.

A triumph in the finals would mean 6,953 ranking points for Gauff next week, putting her 180 points ahead of the Pole, as Swiatek would drop to World No. 3. Swiatek has not been ranked outside the top two since March 21, 2022, spending 125 weeks of that period as the world No 1.

Even if Gauff is unable to win the final and replace Swiatek as the World No 2, the Pole’s ranking is still under threat over the next month and a half as she is defending 1,000 points as the Italian Open champion and 2,000 points as the reigning Roland Garros champion.

Also Read: Iga Swiatek gives uneasy response to a ‘stupid’ question on ATP tour potentially becoming more open now like the WTA