The 2026 season hasn’t quite gone the way Iga Swiatek would have wanted. She has claimed just one title so far, and her Grand Slam performances have mostly been disappointing. This has resulted in her dropping to No. 9 in the rankings, and she still hasn’t qualified for the WTA Finals. However, this did not deter former WTA pro Andrea Petkovic from expressing faith in the Pole.

“She is already on exactly the right path!” she wrote on her Substack post. “She played really well in both Toronto and Cincinnati and just got a little tired there towards the end of Cincinnati, I would say.”

“The more concerning part, I imagine Iga fans worry about, is the fact that she hasn’t done super well in majors lately. Not since Wimbledon, at least. And I do think that she puts an extra amount of pressure on her results during those events. Being high-strung in general makes it difficult for her to perform her best.”

Petkovic further claimed that Swiatek has the potential to end her career with double-digit Grand Slam titles and played down concerns regarding her form.

“Nevertheless, she’s a great champion, one of the best athletes and tennis players this sport has ever seen, and I, for one, am certain that she will end her career with double-digit major titles. She’s still so young, and it’s normal to go through difficult periods in your career,” she added.

After recording disappointing results on both clay and grass, Swiatek significantly improved her form during the hard-court season. The Pole began the swing with the Canadian Open, where she gave her best performance of the season. She defeated players like Marta Kostyuk, Diana Shnaider, and Elina Svitolina on her way to the final. A 6-2, 6-3 victory over Elena Rybakina in the final saw Swiatek clinch her maiden title of the season.

Swiatek then had another strong run in Cincinnati and reached the semifinals. However, Jessica Pegula got the better of her 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in what was a grueling encounter. Despite the defeat, it was still a positive campaign for Swiatek. However, she wasn’t able to replicate this form at the US Open and got knocked out by Qinwen Zheng in the Round of 16.

The Chinese triumphed 7-5, 6-3 as Swiatek capitulated after a strong performance in the first few games. Interestingly, the World No. 9 was leading the first set 5-0 at one stage, but Zheng made an incredible recovery and won the next seven games in a row. After the shocking exit from Flushing Meadows, Swiatek will now be shifting her focus to the upcoming Asian swing. In fact, her next tournament has already been decided.

Iga Swiatek will begin the Asian swing with the Beijing Masters

With the Singapore Open not being on her list, Swiatek will begin the Asian swing in Beijing. The tournament will be the first of the two Masters events that will be played in China during the swing. It will begin on September 30.

“Iga Swiatek will return to action in Beijing. Now, a few days of rest and training time—I was told by Iga’s manager, Daria Sulgostowska,” columnist Dominik Senkowski posted on X. 

It is likely that she will be participating in the Wuhan Open as well, which is again a Masters event. With important tournaments lined up, Swiatek’s performance in China will decide whether she reaches the WTA Finals or not. Her coach, Francisco Roig, recently confirmed that qualifying for the year-end tournament is currently their main goal.

“It is certainly still very far away, but yes – this is our goal,” he said in an interview with Radio ZET. However, if we do not achieve it, the world will not collapse. We will have a little more time to prepare as best as possible for the next season. I talked to Iga about the WTA Finals. The things are that if we do well in the two upcoming tournaments, we can still be dependent on the results achieved by our rivals.”

Swiatek has appeared in every edition of the WTA Finals since 2021. She even won the coveted title in 2023 and finished the year as World No. 1. But the situation is very different for her this year and it remains to be seen whether she will be a part of the year-end tournament or not.