Iga Swiatek Aims to Improve Her Game Ahead of the Wuhan Open After a Disappointing China Open Outing

Iga Swiatek to make her debut at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan after crashing out of the China Open.

Iga Swiatek Aims to Improve Her Game Ahead of the Wuhan Open After a Disappointing China Open Outing

Iga Swiatek (via X/The Tennis Letter)

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Iga Swiatek is set to go back to the drawing board ahead of the Wuhan Open in China. The former World No.1 was stunned at the China Open, after losing to American star Emma Navarro in three sets, in a match she was the favorite to win.

Swiatek began her Asian swing campaign just a week after the US Open ended. The World No.2’s quick return to the court paid out as she claimed the WTA 500 title after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. She arrived at the China Open with the same momentum and won her first two matches.

But in the round of 16, she played a disappointing game, hitting 70 unforced errors, which led her to a 4-6, 6-4, 0-6 loss against World No.17 Navarro. It was the first time since 2021 that Swiatek had hit more than 70 unforced errors in a match. In fact, the last time she hit more than that was against Barbora Krejcikova in the round of 16 of the Rome Open.

Swiatek hit 83 unforced errors in that match, but surprisingly found a way to beat the former Wimbledon champion. It was the highest number of unforced errors she has ever hit in a match on tour since turning professional. However, she recovered in time to win the tournament after beating Karolina Pliskova in the final.

Swiatek is now hoping to do the same at the Wuhan Open. She revealed after her China Open exit that she’s looking forward to working on some aspects of her game before the WTA 1000 tournament. The Pole added that she has no idea what the Wuhan Open looks like but hopes it’s nice for her to play her best game:

Well, honestly, there are some specific things that I think I can improve on the court. I’ll just try to do that in the next days. I’ve never been there. I have no idea even how the site looks like and how the courts are. It’s I think nice to just see a new place. For sure, it’s good that the tournament is shorter ’cause no matter if you win, no matter if you lose, you can just get on with it and do your job.

Aryna Sabalenka is the defending champion at the Wuhan Open. She withdrew from the China Open due to an unspecified injury she sustained during her triumph at the US Open in New York. She will hope to win the tournament, which will surely cement her place at the top of the WTA rankings for the second consecutive year.

Iga Swiatek reveals she has nothing more to say about the intense tour schedule

Iga Swiatek has been very vocal about the stress of the hectic schedule on tour. The Wimbledon champion brought the topic up during the China Open after her opponent, Camila Osorio, retired during their round of 32 clash. The likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff have supported her call for a reduced schedule on tour, while Qinwen Zheng disagreed.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (via Punto de Break)

After her disappointing run at the China Open, she was asked if the hectic nature of the schedule was one of the reasons for her loss in the round of 16. The Polish star revealed that though the schedule is intense, she prefers not to talk about it:

Well, for sure, the season is intense. I don’t have any more thoughts because I’ve been, like, talking about it long time. I don’t think it makes sense to repeat now. Yeah, I don’t have anything more to add than what I said before. Yeah, sorry. There’s nothing more. I would just repeat myself, so yeah.

After the Wuhan Open, Swiatek is expected to compete at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which will draw a conclusion to her 2025 schedule. She won the WTA Finals in Cancun in 2023, but failed to reach the semi-finals last year.

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