Iga Swiatek Reveals Disappointing Defeat to Danielle Collins Was ‘a Wake-Up Call’ for Her

Iga Swiatek took home three titles, including her career's first Wimbledon trophy in the 2025 season.

Iga Swiatek Reveals Disappointing Defeat to Danielle Collins Was ‘a Wake-Up Call’ for Her

Iga Swiatek, Danielle Collins (Image via X/iga archive, #AusOpen)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Danielle Collins ended Iga Swiatek‘s title defense at the Italian Open. And this was a wake-up call for the Pole, as the disappointing straight-set defeat motivated her to work harder.

During her interview with TVP Sport, Swiatek revealed how the defeat had a profound impact on her. Following that match, Swiatek failed to defend her French Open title, losing in the semifinal to eventual runner-up Aryna Sabalenka. She even registered a bagel in the third set. At the French Open, Swiatek was aiming to win her fourth consecutive and fifth overall title.

It was a real wake-up call [defeat to Collins]. Honestly, it wasn’t even because of my opponent, but rather because of the situation I was in and my attitude on the court. It wasn’t something I was looking for, and it was definitely a wake-up call. On the other hand, it was a necessary wake-up call to then be able to play the semi-final at Roland Garros and win Wimbledon.

It was Collins’ career’s second victory over the six-time Grand Slam champion. Swiatek took her revenge by knocking her out in the third round of Wimbledon, before she reached the final and registered a double-bagel win over Amanda Anisimova.

I can regret this defeat, but I don’t think it would have motivated me to work harder, because I was already working very hard, and I really wanted those wins at the beginning of the season. Especially since that’s when I started working with Wim Fissette, and I wanted to prove that with such an experienced coach, I could win even more.

Iga Swiatek added

The Wimbledon victory was Swiatek’s first title of the season. Before scripting history at SW19, Swiatek made her career’s first grass-court final at the Bad Homburg Open but failed to end the event in her favor, losing the match to Jessica Pegula.

Following her Wimbledon win, Swiatek reached two more finals. First, she beat Jasmine Paolini at the Cincinnati Open, then she fulfilled a family dream by defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Korea Open. She finished the season with a 62-17 win-loss record.

Iga Swiatek on ending the season as the No.1 player

Because she failed to defend five titles, Iga Swiatek even dropped to the eighth spot on the rankings table, but thanks to her resurgence, the 24-year-old ended the season in second position. Swiatek recently sat for an interview with CLAY and RG Media during which she made her feelings known on her ranking.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Iga archive)

I think finishing as No.2 is a great achievement. I think the level we’re all at got more equal. I think you could see that, especially during the WTA Finals, basically, any of us could win this tournament; we really played a lot of tight matches. There are some players that obviously prefer some conditions or others who feel better in this or that part of the season…but I think overall we are all getting better in a really fast way.

Iga Swiatek said

Aryna Sabalenka is standing on top of the rankings table. Swiatek, however, had the chance to dethrone the four-time Grand Slam singles champion. She would have reclaimed the top spot had she won both the Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals.

At the WTA Finals, Swiatek, for the second consecutive time, failed to reach the semifinals. Back in 2023, she defeated Jessica Pegula in the title clash of the year-end championships.

This season, after defeating reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Swiatek lost to eventual champion Elena Rybakina and later to Amanda Anisimova in the round-robin stage. Swiatek lost the No.1 ranking to Sabalenka last year after failing to defend two titles on the Asian tour (she was banned for three weeks after failing a drug test).

Also read: Nick Kyrgios Admits Feeling the Nerves Heading into the Battle of Sexes Clash Against Aryna Sabalenka