Iga Świątek is on the verge? An alarming request in the Polish woman’s name

The Polish tennis player has accustomed tennis fans to the fact that she usually comes out on top in matches with lower-ranked opponents. However, a different scenario took place during the fourth round match of the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing. In the capital of China, although Iga Świątek was the tournament’s number one, Emma Navarro turned out to be better. The American won against her Polish opponent after a three-set battle that lasted 2.5 hours.

A gigantic dose of Polish matches. Carlos Alcaraz on Iga Świątek’s words

What happened in the last part of the match was surprising. Świątek lost as usual… she outplayed her opponents, i.e. to zero in the set. Navarro triumphed 6-0, but it must be admitted that it was not a walk for the American. The set itself lasted 40 minutes, in most games there was a fight for advantages, and the Pole had no chance to try to tip the scales of victory in her favor.

Ultimately, however, it was not the Polish woman’s day, as evidenced by statistics. Świtek made a huge number of 70 unforced errors. Even with over 30 winners under her belt, it is difficult to think about winning against an opponent who is solidly number 17 in the WTA rankings.

As for ranking issues, the Polish woman’s defeat and the increasing mistakes can be explained to some extent. And this is actually with only what is easy to find on the official WTA website. You can read there how many matches each tennis player played in the 2025 season. Świątek, not counting what she added during the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, had exactly 70 matches under her belt. Looking at the Polish woman’s record (excluding the Chinese “thousand”), it is 57 victories and 13 defeats.

None(!) of the ranking players, looking at the top twenty, played as much as the Polish runner-up in the world list. Aryna Sabalenka? She is closest to the Polish result, number 1 from Minsk, with a record of 56 wins and 10 losses – that is, 66 matches.

On the one hand, it is obvious, considering the fact that both women usually reach the decisive stages of the title fight during their tournament starts. Looking only at Świątek and her Grand Slam starts, the Pole managed to play in two semi-finals (Australian Open and Roland Garros), win in London (Wimbledon) and lose at the quarter-final stage in New York (US Open).

The Pole has repeatedly emphasized in the past that the tennis calendar is packed to the limits of possibilities, even common sense. Momentary breaks are actually unique and literal, taking into account the key word “moment”. On the one hand, it is obvious that we are talking about a player from the absolute top in the world who earns enormous money for her performances and victories. This is the world of sports, and in this case, tennis is one of the most lucrative ones.

But still, if you look at it more broadly, we are talking about a human being. Even if Świątek plays like a machine, improving subsequent records, making history at such a young age – because she is only a 24-year-old tennis player – she has only one health. Both physically and mentally, as Carlos Alcaraz pointed out during the press conference in Tokyo.

The Spaniard had to withdraw from the ATP 1000 series in Shanghai for health reasons (right after his triumph in the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo). Alcaraz took up a topic that Świątek had often raised, drawing criticism from many sides for allegedly “exaggerating” in calendar matters.

– Honestly, I have to consider in the future whether I will be forced to miss some mandatory tournaments just to maintain my physical and sports fitness. Of course, we are talking about more than just physical condition. I think mentally it’s very demanding, playing so many compulsory tournaments in a row or playing so many tournaments without any mental rest days. I admit that I will consider missing a few mandatory tournaments for my own comfort and mental benefit. I agree with Iga and I think many players will do so, said the ATP ranking leader.

As you can see, the problem is deeper. The WTA and ATP authorities should think more carefully about the future. Money is money, but such an abundance of games means that even the best setting of individual tournaments – including growing prize pools – will not cover the increasingly… poorer sports level. It is difficult to expect organisms that are exhausted to their limits to suddenly function at their highest level.

And this is not only a problem for the Pole herself, or her mentioned defeat against Navarro.

Iga Świątek and all her championship titles

In her career so far, the Pole has won a total of 25 championship titles on courts almost all over the world.

Świątek won six Grand Slams, four times at Roland Garros (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024), once at the US Open (2022) and Wimbledon (2025). To this should be added the prestigious triumph in the WTA Finals (2023).

In addition, wins in WTA 1000 tournaments in: Rome (2021, 2022, 2024), Doha (2022 and 2024), Indian Wells (2022 and 2024), Miami (2022), Beijing (2023), Madrid (2024) and the most recent one in Cincinnati (2025).

The list also includes WTA 500 competitions: Adelaide (2021), Stuttgart (2022 and 2023), San Diego (2022), Doha (2023) and Seoul (2025). Plus a Polish accent, WTA 250 in Warsaw (2023).

After the Olympic tournament in Paris (2024), a bronze medal of the Games should be added to this list. The first disc in the history of Polish Olympics taken from competition on tennis courts. Although, as the tennis player herself mentioned, after winning Wimbledon, if she could, she would exchange one of her Grand Slam wins – for Olympic gold.