Caroline Wozniacki’s father issues advice to ‘overworked’ Iga Swiatek amid trophy drought
Iga Swiatek succumbed to a straight-set defeat to teen sensation Alexandra Eala in the Miami Open quarterfinals.
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Iga Swiatek (Image via X/WTA Insider)
Iga Swiatek‘s trophy-less run continues in the 2025 season. She participated at the Miami Open in her hope to finally lift a trophy for the first time since the 2024 Roland Garros.
Swiatek, however, ended her campaign in the quarterfinals with a straight-set defeat to teen sensation Alexandra Eala, who scripted history by becoming the first Filipina to secure a berth in the semifinals. Eala became the third player outside of the top 100 to beat the former World No.1 in a WTA main draw match.
Caroline Wozniacki‘s father and former coach, Piotr Wozniacki, analyzed the Pole’s performance and said that instead of making any changes to her coaching team, she should rather find some space for herself in a cramped calendar. The 2018 Australian Open champion’s father wants Swiatek to take a break to forget about tennis instead of changing her team and her playing style.
It’s not about whether Iga plays great on the forehand or backhand, whether she’s properly prepared in terms of strength, whether the new coach [Wim Fissette] will teach her who knows what new tactics, who knows what strokes, or whatever. All of this will be of no use at all if Iga is simply overworked, and in my opinion, she’s overworked by this atmosphere.
Piotr Wozniacki told Sport.pl
Swiatek too has often complained about the 11-month WTA calendar. She also blamed the schedule for her defeat to eventual winner Mirra Andreeva in the Dubai Open quarterfinal.
Iga Swiatek revealed Alexandra Eala took her by surprise after defeat
Iga Swiatek, apart from the season’s first title, was also bidding to win her second trophy at the Miami Open, having won the WTA 1000 title in 2022. As the five-time Grand Slam champion failed to overcome Alexandra Eala, she ended her campaign in her ninth consecutive singles tournament without reaching the final. After her defeat, she reflected on the match.
For sure, I did not know she was going to play that flat. But besides that, she was really aggressive and she kept her focus and some of the shots were pretty out of nowhere, but still I could see that she had intentions to go for it and to push and it worked for her today, for sure.
Iga Swiatek said at the press conference
Eala became just the third wild card to move into the Miami Open semifinals after Justine Henin (2010) and Victoria Azarenka (2018). The World No.140 is also assured of a spot inside the top 100, which will again make her the first player from the Philippines to reach the spot.
After beating the World No.2, Eala scheduled a semifinal match against fourth seed Jessica Pegula but couldn’t overcome her. Ultimately, it is the 2024 US Open runner-up who has set up a final clash with World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Iga Swiatek to participate in clay-court events next
Following the end of the Miami Open, the focus of the tennis world will shift toward the clay swing. Swiatek will be looking forward to the tournaments on the red dirt to end her trophy drought as she at present is undoubtedly the best clay-court player on the WTA Tour.
In the 2024 season, Swiatek lifted three of her five tour-level trophies on clay. She beat Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open and Italian Open finals and completed the three-peat at the French Open by breezing past Jasmine Paolini to also claim her fourth trophy at Roland Garros.
Swiatek was on the verge of winning the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was held at the Roland Garros. The 23-year-old, however, took home the bronze medal after defeat to eventual winner Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals.
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