The last time Iga Swiatek won the French Open, she saved a match point in the second round. It was against a red-hot Naomi Osaka, and Swiatek just barely eked out the win that eventually became a stepping stone en route to her 2024 Roland Garros title.
Two years later, things are a little different. Swiatek hasn’t won a clay title since then, but in the fourth round of Rome she utterly dominated Osaka, 6-2 6-1. Turning this highly anticipated match into a complete blowout may be what Swiatek needs to get her clay court results back on track.
Iga Swiatek’s Fading Clay Dominance
Swiatek has won Roland Garros a whopping four times. The first was her first Grand Slam title back in 2020, and the other three came in a streak from 2022-2024. She also picked up four 1000-level titles on clay in that period and has won the consistently stacked clay 500 in Stuttgart twice.
In 2024, Swiatek went on a remarkable run as she won Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros all in a row. But unlike most years, that wasn’t the end of clay season. Swiatek, like many of her peers, circled back to Roland Garros after grass season for the Paris Olympics. She was the heavy favorite for Gold in singles, but she went home with Bronze after a semifinal loss to Qinwen Zheng.
One match doesn’t change the quality of a player. The loss to Zheng didn’t take away Swiatek’s dominance, but it was a warning sign that the rest of the Tour was adapting to Swiatek’s game.
2025 saw Swiatek’s typically strong clay performance falter, with no titles and not even a final. The most shocking loss came in Rome, where she fell in the third round to Danielle Collins. She failed to defend the majority of her clay points and lost her stranglehold at the top of the rankings.
Of course, the rest of the summer saw Swiatek soar, the highlight being a title at Wimbledon. But Swiatek’s domain is clay, and yet she walked away empty-handed.
Coaching Changes and Setbacks
Swiatek went into the 2026 clay season coming off an opening-match loss in Miami and parting ways with her coach, Wim Fissette.
She spent time practicing at the Rafa Nadal Academy and formed a coaching partnership with Francisco Roig. And though Swiatek got off to a shaky start on clay—an early loss in Stuttgart and a bout of food poisoning in Madrid—her matches in Rome have shown where her clay court game is at right now.
The Run in Rome
Her opening match wasn’t easy. Swiatek served for a straight-set win over Caty McNally, but ended up having to finish off the match in three sets. It was a tough win, but it was also a far cry from the upset losses that have plagued Swiatek in the last two years of clay.
The match turned out to be a step in the right direction, as Swiatek utterly dominated in her next two matches. Living up to the lofty standard set by her past results, Swiatek decimated Elisabetta Cocciaretto then executed her clinical victory over Osaka.
But this has only gotten her to the quarterfinals, and Swiatek has a way to go if she wants to re-establish herself as the best on clay ahead of Roland Garros. And the path starts with a tough test in the form of Jessica Pegula.
This season, Pegula has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour. Her worst result this season came last week in the third round of Madrid, but it was a loss to eventual champion Marta Kostyuk. Pegula has defeated Swiatek five times, but never on clay. On paper, this is a match Swiatek should win.
In practice, of course, it isn’t always that simple. There is doubt surrounding Swiatek going into this match, but there was doubt going into the Osaka match as well and she confidently erased it. At her best, Iga Swiatek can beat anyone, and on clay she has the capacity to be unstoppable. The ball is in her court to get back to the top.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports