World no. 1 Iga Swiatek crashes out of U.S. Open after losing to Jelena Ostapenko. How did it go down?

When Iga Swiatek arrived at the U.S. Open, she did so as its reigning champion, as the winner at three of the last six Grand Slam tournaments, and as the No. 1 ranked woman in tennis for almost one and a half years. Unfortunately for her, none of that mattered when she met Jelena Ostapenko.

Iga Swiatek out of US Open in the 4th Round

Sunday was not a good day for Poland’s Iga Swiatek. Indeed, the defending champion saw her run at the US Open brought to an end in the fourth round by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the current 20th seed in women’s tennis. Making the feat even more impressive is the fact that Ostapenko had to come from behind after losing the first set 3-6, to record 6-3 and 6-1 victories in the remaining two sets during a match that lasted 1hr 48min. Up next for the Latvian star is American sixth seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the tournament which will be played on Tuesday.

It’s worth noting that Swiatek’s loss will also end her time at the top of women’s tennis, a spot she has held for 75 weeks. Once rankings are updated after the US Open concludes, it will be her rival Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus who will become world No. 1. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Ostapenko has defeated Swiatek, in fact, it’s the fourth as she has beaten the Polish star in all three of their previous meetings. “I always expect a tough battle against Iga, she’s such a great player and won many Slams and is so consistent,” Ostapenko said following her victory at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I knew I had to be aggressive and play my game because that’s what she doesn’t like. I was just thinking that I have to play until the very last point, until we shake hands. I felt like I was playing better and didn’t give her many chances.”

A tough break for Iga Swiatek

It would be fair to say that Iga Swiatek looked like a sure bet to defend her US Open title prior to her date with Ostapenko. Having not dropped a set in her first three matches, how could one have argued the point? A ‘brave man’ as mentioned before. Quite frankly, after she comfortably took the first set against the Latvian, the idea that she would record her first victory against the woman that she had never beaten looked certain. Ostapenko on the other hand, appears to not have read the script.

After snatching an early break in the second set, she then held for a 3-0 lead, and from there on Swiatek’s struggles began in earnest. She did manage to break Ostapenko and in turn served to level the set at 6-4, however, she herself was broken once more which allowed Ostapenko to take a 5-3 lead. The Latvian once again held firm at break point to finish the set at 6-3. As for the third set, by then it was clear that Swiatek’s game was curmbling as her opponent broke her serve twice in the first three games to take a 3-0 lead, and again in the 5th game to take a 5-0 lead. Ironically, Swiatek managed to break Ostapenko as the latter served for the match, but was once again broken herself to crash out of the tournament.