Iga Swiatek suffered a minor slump ever since her Wimbledon loss. After the tournament, she wasn’t able to make a big statement in the Masters or the remaining majors. She also relinquished her rank 1 and faced a difficult period. But things seem to be turning around for her. She is in the final of the last Masters of the WTA Tour and has a chance to close the gap between her and the one at the top.
Swiatek has fought hard and well to reach so far into the China Open. She faced Coco Gauff in the semi-final, while also battling demotivation due to an empty arena. But now that she has won, she seems to be back on track.
When she was eliminated in the Wimbledon, Swiatek looked dismayed at the result. The following Masters and the US Open wouldn’t fare any better for her as she exited them rather early as well. She won the Poland Open, but it didn’t help her perform better in the following championships. She lost her #1 ranking in the US Open to Aryna Sabalenka, who is out of the tournament.
Swiatek faced Gauff in the semifinal of the Beijing Open and dismantled her in straight sets. After the match, she was emotional as Gauff defeated her in their last bout. Completing her vengeance in China, she said, “I will remember for the rest of my career that even if tougher times may come, in your mind you know you can always overcome that“.
Swiatek overcame the last time she fell short and now can claim the big title in China. Despite her happiness and the victory, the number of the crowd seemed abysmal. With two grand slam champions facing each other, many would think the stadium would be filled to the brim. However, that was not the case. Only 30% of the stadium was occupied by fans, a shocking number for a semifinal of a Masters tournament. This has been an issue in the China Open since it began, and Swiatek even pleaded with fans to come and watch them play.
Despite the shockingly few people in the stadium, the support for Swiatek was all around as fans carried flags with her name on them. Regardless of the size of the audience, Gauff and Swiatek fought with everything in their power. Their bout gave us the first finalist for the China Open. As the other finalist will be confirmed soon, the WTA Tour is nearing its end.
