Iga Swiatek’s Ex-Coach Explains Why She Suffered Fourth-Round Exit at US Open: “Her Rivals Know How to Play Against Her”

Iga Swiatek‘s campaign at the US Open ended in a disastrous fashion. Swiatek, a champion in New York in 2022, lost in straight sets to Qinwen Zheng in the fourth round in spite of a 5-0 lead in the first set.

Swiatek entered Flushing Meadows on the back of a successful run at the Canadian Open as well as her run to the semifinal at the Cincinnati Open. She defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina in Toronto, and lost to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula in Cincinnati.

Then at the US Open, following two straight-set wins, Swiatek overcame Marie Bouzkova in straight sets, which also included two tie-breaks. And when it looked like she would breeze past Zheng, the Chinese ace clawed her way back into the game before eventually knocking her out with a 7-6, 6-3 scoreline.

Swiatek’s old coach, Katerina Urbanova, understood what went wrong during the match. During an interview with Sport.pl, Urbanova said:

If we go back to the match with Zheng, you could see that the Chinese player began hitting high balls that landed deep near the baseline, whereas she had previously played shorter balls and mixed up her style. This variation threw Iga off. At the same time, while she had been returning very well leading up to the match against Zheng, that return game was missing in this last match.

Urbanova believes that because tennis is evolving, Swiatek’s power is no longer making the same impression. She advised her to improve her forehand grip, calling it unconventional. A change that Urbanova is seeing in her former protegee’s game after her work with current coach Francisco Roig is that Swiatek has stopped “jumping into her shots,” which she believes will allow the former World No.1 to have stability over time.

She has reverted to the issues she’s been dealing with all season. She did have a better run in recent weeks, winning the tournament in Toronto and reaching the semifinals in Cincinnati. However, she still lacks self-confidence. We also have to remember that her rivals now know how to play against her. It only takes a few slower balls to make Iga start committing errors. She struggles most with so-called ‘dead balls’ – shots where she has to generate her own pace.

Katerina Urbanova added

Swiatek hired Roig before the clay swing this season after parting ways with Wim Fissette, under whose guidance she won last year’s Wimbledon by double-bageling Amanda Anisimova in the final.

Andrea Petkovic on what’s the most concerning thing about Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek is a six-time Grand Slam champion, last winning a Major at the 2025 Wimbledon. Since then, she has yet to reach another semifinal at this level, reaching the quarterfinals twice, in last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open.

Andrea Petkovic believes Swiatek is on the right path, but what concerns her about the Pole is her results in Majors. When a fan asked the German about Swiatek’s season, Petkovic responded with:

The more concerning part, I imagine Iga fans worry about, is the fact that she hasn’t done super well in Majors lately. Not since Wimbledon [2025], at least. And I do think that she puts an extra amount of pressure on her results during those events.

Sharing here the response of Andrea Petkovic to my question about Iga. 😉 pic.twitter.com/ninRz0GOaf

— apple (@aypeljaa) September 20, 2026

Swiatek will next be seen in action at the China Open, a WTA 1000 event in Beijing. She will be chasing her 20th Big Title of her career.

The 25-year-old won the tournament on her debut in 2023, while last year, she crashed out in the fourth round. Amanda Anisimova will be competing there as the defending champion.

Also read: Grigor Dimitrov Feels the Same Way as Novak Djokovic: “A Part of Me Left with Roger and Rafa”