Iga Swiatek, the World No. 2 tennis player, had a tough day on Saturday when she was beaten by Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open in Rome. It was a surprising loss because Swiatek had won many matches in Rome before, but Collins played really well.
The Match
Collins won 6-1, 7-5 in a match that many people thought Swiatek would win. Before this, Swiatek had won seven out of eight matches against Collins. Plus, Swiatek had won 21 out of her last 22 matches on the clay courts in Rome, and she had even won the tournament three times in the last four years.
But this time, things were different. Swiatek, who is from Poland, hadn’t won a big tournament since she took home the French Open title in June 2024. She was the French Open champion for the fourth time, but since then, things hadn’t been going as well for her. When the new rankings come out on Monday, she will drop from No. 2 to No. 4.
A Difficult Season for Swiatek
Swiatek had been No. 1 or No. 2 in the world since March 2022, but this year, she has had a harder time. She’s already lost nine times this season, which is the same number of losses she had all of last year. In 2024, she had an amazing record of 64 wins and just 9 losses, but this year is proving to be a bit tougher.
After her match with Collins, Swiatek said she was feeling a little lost and needed to make some changes. She said, “It hasn’t been easy. For sure, I’m doing something wrong, so I need to just regroup and change some stuff.”
Collins’ Victory
Danielle Collins, who beat Swiatek, said that playing against Swiatek so many times in the past helped her a lot. She explained that by losing in close matches and playing her best, she learned how to handle tough situations. Collins had already beaten Swiatek once before, in the 2022 Australian Open.
In this match, Collins played really well, hitting 32 winners and making only 15 mistakes. Swiatek, on the other hand, hit 15 winners but made 22 mistakes. Collins also took advantage of six out of eight break chances, while Swiatek only won two out of ten.
Next for Collins
Now, Collins will move on to the fourth round and play against Elina Svitolina, who beat her opponent Hailey Baptiste in a close match 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Other Results
In other matches, No. 3 Jessica Pegula also lost to Elise Mertens from Belgium. Mertens won 7-5, 6-1. She played really well, hitting 19 winners and saving seven out of eight break points.
Peyton Stearns, an American player, came from behind to beat Madison Keys, who was ranked No. 5. The match ended 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), and Stearns won the tiebreaker in the third set.
Finally, Naomi Osaka from Japan won her match against Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback.
What’s Next
The tournament is still going, and many exciting matches are coming up. Fans are waiting to see how the players, like Collins, Stearns, and Mertens, will do in the next rounds!
