World number 1 Iga Swiatek’s hopes of winning a second Grand Slam title this year came crashing at the US Open. Swiatek entered the contest having not dropped a set and held a superior head-to-head record against Jessica Pegula. But in a stunning upset, Pegula thwarted the current French Open champion in straight sets to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final, leaving the Pole devastated.

Her defeat in the quarter-finals was full of uncharacteristic mistakes. At the US Open, Swiatek had not been broken since R1. However, in the last-eight clash, she dropped serve with a double fault in the opening game and again in the third against Pegula. She also struggled with her forehands in this match with 22 out of 41 unforced errors coming on that side. Even though Pegula deserves immense credit for her monumental win, a 2-6, 4-6, defeat for Swiatek was hard on her and it was visible when cameras caught her shedding tears.

Swiatek was lying down and receiving treatment in the players’ area, when cameras spotted her wiping away tears, visibly struggling to cope with the defeat. Her frustration kept on creeping as the match progressed further. She was even seen making her racquet at the top of the net and slapping her right thigh after a forehand flew wide. Swiatek being this upset over her defeat is also understandable. The clay season saw her play deep into all the tournaments she entered, winning three of them.

But since then, the results have dried up. After the French Open win, she has struggled to perform at the levels everyone expects of her. She went out in the third round at Wimbledon to Yulia Putintseva and lost to Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati in the semi-finals. Both defeats weighed heavily on her and were a result of her running into problems we wouldn’t usually associate with her.

Swiatek’s defeat to Pegula and others before had familiar patterns. Her serve failed to land in court often and the revered forehand began going off the court. The backhand, a reliable weapon for her, started betraying her as well.

Meanwhile, journalist Ben Rothenberg wasn’t happy with ESPN showing Swiatek in a vulnerable state. He took to X to express his concern and wrote, “I don’t understand how players haven’t rioted about these intrusive eyes backstage at Slams yet. There’s just so little deference shown to players who clearly think they are behind closed doors.”

Swiatek experienced a similar moment when she returned to the comforts of clay during the Olympics. Eyeing a gold medal match Swiatek went down to Qinwen Zheng in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5. Following the defeat, she revealed that she spent six hours crying after feeling like someone “broke her heart.” However, the four-time French Open winner was able to bounce back and win the bronze medal in Paris.

Following her heartbreaking loss in the US Open quarterfinals, Swiatek was pretty blunt in the assessment of her performance.

Iga Swiatek’s brutal admission after the devastating loss

The Pole struggled with her serves in the first set and could not recover in the second set either. Pegula attained full control of the match and managed to cruise into the semis of her home Slam. Even Swiatek admitted that she couldn’t find the right solutions to make a comeback in this match.

Speaking after the contest she said, “I probably didn’t find the right solution because I couldn’t push with my serve. Also, I wasn’t that solid from the baseline to have a backup like that. You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes, and I made those and it’s on me.”

Iga Swiatek admitted facing a tricky campaigner like Jessica Pegula is “never easy,” but things could’ve been a bit different if she committed fewer mistakes in this match.

For Pegula this is the first time she has reached a Grand Slam semi-final in seven attempts. Speaking after securing one of the biggest victories in her career in front of the home crowd she said, “I’ve been (to the quarters) so many freaking times – I just kept losing. Finally, I can say semifinalist.”

She was quite wary of the threats that may come up when she faced someone like Swiatek. So, as soon as she found a little opening, she pounced on her prey. “I could tell right away she was frustrated on the serve,” she said after the match

For Swiatek, there is some consolation. She will retain the number one spot through next week regardless of this recent result in NY. Swiatek has also revealed that she isn’t planning for a long break at the moment and she’s “ready” to play till November. Will she able to end her season on a winning note?