‘Idol’ Steffi Graf has to say ‘this’ about Iga Swiatek’s rest of 2025 season after Pole’s another Australian Open failure
Iga Swiatek once again failed to progress to the final of the Australian Open after a three-set defeat to Madison Keys in the semifinals.
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Iga Swiatek, Steffi Graf (Images via X)
Iga Swiatek started the 2025 season with a bang. After dealing with the doping scandal, Swiatek decided not to let the drug saga take a toll on her mental health anymore.
With her powerful performances, she guided Poland to the United Cup final but her team once again faltered when it mattered the most, losing consecutive finals in the tournament. Swiatek next arrived in Melbourne for the season’s first Grand Slam event.
She made huge strides to claim her first title at the Melbourne Slam, winning all her matches- except the semifinal- in straight sets. But in the last four, she succumbed to a three-set defeat to eventual winner Madison Keys. Her idol and 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf however is confident that Swiatek will continue to produce strong performances for the rest of the season.
She’s definitely set herself apart the last few years and I think with her start to the year, she’ll come back strong.
Steffi Graf told The Athletic
Swiatek is in Qatar for the season’s first WTA 1000 event. She started her campaign with a straight-set win over Maria Sakkari before surviving a scare in the next round as she came from a set down to knock out Linda Noskova.
Iga Swiatek to lock horns with Elena Rybakina in Qatar Open quarterfinal
After overcoming Linda Noskova, Iga Swiatek scheduled her quarterfinal clash with Elena Rybakina on Thursday (January 13). Rybakina, who like the Pole is searching for her first title of the season, beat Peyton Stearns and Rebecca Sramkova to set up the clash with Swiatek.
The upcoming match will also be a rematch of last year’s Qatar Open final where Swiatek registered a straight-set win to clinch her third consecutive Qatar Open title. Swiatek is bidding to become the second woman in this century to win a tournament four times on the trot after Caroline Wozniacki.
2023 Australian Open finalist Rybakina, who suffered a three-set defeat to Madison Keys in the fourth round at Melbourne Park, will be meeting the 23-year-old for the eighth time. She edges Swiatek 4-3 in their head-to-head encounters.
In their last meeting, Swiatek beat the Kazakh ace to help Poland reach the final of the United Cup. If she beats the 25-year-old and reaches all the way to the final and clinches the title, it will be her first trophy on the tour since claiming her fourth and third straight French Open title last year.
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Gouri Das
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