Iga Swiatek was taken aback by her game after she made an exit from the US Open 2023. On Sunday, September 3, Swiatek lost 6-3, 3-6, 1-6 to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Swiatek started the game handsomely by taking an early break and closed out the first set without having to break a sweat. But the momentum started changing drastically from the second set onwards.

Swiatek said that in matches where she is off colour, she tends to up her game in the latter half. However, she was surprised by the fact that, this time around, she started well before going off the boil.

“I don’t really know what happened with my game. I felt no control suddenly. I just have to watch and see, because I didn’t really know why I started making so many mistakes.

“I’m just surprised that my level changed so drastically because usually when I play bad, I play bad at the beginning, then I kind of catch up or just problem-solve. This time it was totally the opposite,” Swiatek said in the post-match press conference.

SWIATEK VOWS TO COME BACK

With her defeat, Swiatek also lost her No.1 world ranking to Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka. Swiatek admitted that she is disappointed after losing the top ranking, but also vowed to make a strong comeback.

“Well, it meant a lot, obviously. It was great. On the other hand, this last part, it was pretty exhausting [to defend No. 1]. I still need to do all this stuff that my team and all these great players like Roger or Novak or Rafa are talking about: You just have to focus on the tournaments, not the rankings,” she stated.

“But for sure, when it happens, when you lose [the No. 1 ranking], there are some sad emotions. As I said at the beginning, all these great players know it’s going to come back if you’re going to work hard, focus on the right things, just develop as a player,” Swiatek added.