Iga Swiatek shares her deep observation after US Open exit, losing No. 1 ranking

Iga Swiatek suggests it is “a clean slate” for her after failing to defend the US Open title and retain the world No 1 ranking. Following Swiatek’s shock US Open round-of-16 loss to Jelena Ostapenko, Swiatek failed to defend her title and also lost the world No 1 ranking for the first time since achieving it on April 4th, 2022.

Over the last year and a half, the words “defending” and “defense” have often been attached to Swiatek’s name. In a message posted on her social media, Swiatek suggested that reading those headlines made her think it was all about defending titles and her world No 1 ranking.

Now, Swiatek wants to focus on new goals and to have a different mindset and attitude when she finds herself again in a situation to defend something.

Swiatek’s full message after the US Open exit, losing the No 1 ranking
“Last 1,5 year was a time of observing and experiencing how much people talk and write about ‘defending’, ‘defense’ – of titles, ranking position, points…

I was surprised sometimes to start to think this way because of this. But… I don’t need to defend anything and this is a good moment to write down some thoughts. For me sport is a cycle of constant changes exactly like in everyday life, we can either win or lose – that’s it, it’s so simple.