Iga Swiatek entered the Stuttgart Open as the third seed and lived up to that billing early, brushing aside Laura Siegemund with authority after receiving a first-round bye. She broke serve five times in a routine straight-sets win, never allowing the German to settle. The quarterfinal, however, told a different story. Swiatek took the opening set against the fast-rising Mirra Andreeva, but her grip loosened as the match wore on, slipping to a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 defeat. It marked her fourth quarterfinal exit of the season, yet her reaction offered a perspective that stood out as much as the result itself.

“Certainly, without more winning matches, this confidence will not come. This is a process, you have to rebuild it, play more games to make it work. I’m certainly not the kind of person who just gets up in the morning and tells herself that she’s going to be confident today. Rather, I need these repetitions, good matches to feel it. I will continue to work to have more chances in tournaments,” Swiatek said during the post-match press conference.

The Pole also admitted that she didn’t have many expectations from the Stuttgart Open to begin with. This was quite a surprising statement as the 24-year-old was one of the favorites to win the competition, having previously clinched the title in 2022 and 2023.

“I didn’t expect that I would play great at this tournament with a different attitude,” she further said.

On the other hand, Mirra continued her stunning form with the comeback win over Swiatek. She has now made it to the semifinals in Stuttgart, where she will be taking on Elena Rybakina, who is the top seed of the competition. Notably, the young Russian had lifted the Linz Open title earlier this month. She has already broken into the top 10 at the mere age of 18 and is having a highly impressive 2026 season.

Not to mention, Andreeva is making a habit of this against Iga Swiatek. After beating the former World No. 1 in Dubai and Indian Wells last year, the 18-year-old completed the set in Stuttgart in 2 hours and 36 minutes to reach her first semifinal at the event. It is another statement resulting from one of the fastest-rising teenagers on tour.

“I was just trying to be fearless,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview. “I was trying to go for my shots because I know when I’m getting tight, I tend to just put the ball in… just waiting, praying for the opponent to make a mistake.”

She backed that mindset when it mattered most. Trailing 2-0 in the decider, Andreeva flipped the momentum and raced to a 5-2 lead before closing it out with confidence. The win marked her sixth career Top 5 victory and her third against Swiatek in just four meetings, a rivalry that is quickly tilting in her favor.

Coming back, this was the first tournament that Swiatek played under the guidance of her new coach, Francisco Roig. The Spaniard replaced Wim Fissette from the position, who had parted ways with the World No. 3 after her shocking first-round defeat against Magda Linette at the Miami Open last month.

She was fresh off her training alongside both Roig and Rafael Nadal at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. Though the unexpected defeat to Andreeva could have been a major hit to morale, the Pole didn’t make much of the result.

“I think I enjoyed this match most of the time. Ok, at the end of the third set, not necessarily, but most of the time yes. This is positive information for me, because it’s not at all like every match has been associated with similar feelings recently. I just want to enjoy the game, believe in what I’m doing.”

She further pointed out the area where she was quite weak during the clash against Andreeva.

Iga Swiatek’s blunt assessment of her performance against Mirra Andreeva

Swiatek admitted that she wasn’t serving at her best during the match. This was evident in the third set, where the World No. 3 had raced to a 2-0 lead and had a chance to clinch three games in a row. However, she failed to break Andreeva’s serve and lost all momentum going forward.

“Honestly, to assess it, I have to watch the match from a different perspective. On the court, I didn’t feel super confident on my serve. I could serve more precisely, the ball flew to a different place, closer to Mirra and didn’t cause her any damage. I would have had to watch it, because otherwise it seemed to me that I maintained a good level from deep in the court,” she concluded.

The Pole got her serve broken twice in the final set and lost five games in a row as Andreeva sat on the verge of victory. The youngster would hold her serve comfortably to claim the hard-fought win.

After a disappointing run in Stuttgart, Swiatek will be aiming to perform better at the Madrid Masters that is set to commence from April 22. This is another tournament where she has given strong performances in the previous seasons.

Notably, Swiatek had reached the final of the Madrid Open in 2023 but was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka. A rematch had taken place in the 2024 final, where the Pole had come out on top and had clinched her first and only title in the Spanish capital. Last year, Swiatek had reached the semis in Madrid but had suffered a one-sided 1-6, 1-6 defeat to Coco Gauff.

Will Swiatek end up having another strong run at the Madrid Open, or will her dismal form see her falter in another Masters 1000 event? Let us know what you think in the comments!