Coming into her final match of the WTA Finals round-robin proved tricky for Iga Swiatek. The 2023 champion had plenty riding on it, having already lost to Elena Rybakina earlier on Monday. She did, however, open with a strong win over Madison Keys. This final clash with Amanda Anisimova would decide her place in the semifinals. But just as the pressure mounted, a fan in the stands appeared to have other plans.

The match began well for the Pole, who took the first set against the American. Yet, during the changeover, as she walked past the umpire’s chair to her bench, she suddenly raised a complaint. “He’s disturbing the game,” she said. “He’s disturbing the game between first and second serve,” said the World No. 2, who wanted to keep her rhythm and asked for the fan, who was apparently causing distractions, to be removed from the stands.

As she continued to make her point, the umpire listened closely. Though her response was inaudible to the cameras, she appeared to understand Swiatek’s concern. The chair official noted the disturbance and assured the player she would handle the situation.

Her confidence took a hit as the second set passed by her and the third set began. Right away, she faced serious pressure, battling through her first service game and saving three break points just to stay even. On the other hand, Anisimova stayed locked in, striking with purpose and finally earning the big breakthrough in the fourth game after forcing six break chances. The momentum was all hers from that moment, and Iga Swiatek couldn’t find a response.

Anisimova held strong on serve, giving Swiatek absolutely nothing to work with. Her 91% first-serve percentage and 76% success rate behind it made the comeback hopes fade fast. Swiatek had one shot to break back at 2-4 but couldn’t take it. From there, Anisimova stayed calm and wrapped up a rock-solid victory, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 after two hours and 37 minutes. However, the American couldn’t help but acknowledge Iga’s fight.

Iga Swiatek’s opponent admits to feeling the nerves

This was their third showdown of the season, and their history made it even spicier. Their first clash came on the grandest stage, the Wimbledon Championships final, where Swiatek absolutely dominated, blasting past Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes to lift her first Venus Rosewater Dish. But the tables turned fast. When they met again at the US Open semifinals, Amanda struck back with a straight-sets win, 6-4, 6-3, to punch her ticket to the finals.

Heading into this latest meeting, the American confessed she was nervous about facing Iga again. “I knew it was going to be such a tough challenge today against Iga [Swiatek],” she admitted after her three-set victory. “I told myself to just go for it today and not get down on myself. I feel like throughout the whole match, I was pretty calm, trying to conserve my energy, because I knew it was going to be such a battle.” It was that composed mindset that carried her through when it mattered most.

Anisimova had already collected a group-stage win over Madison Keys but had fallen to Elena Rybakina in her opener, which made her clash with Swiatek even more crucial. She came out inspired and backed it up, later saying, “I think I did everything I wanted to do, really happy with the way I was able to play.” Her performance secured her a runner-up finish in the group, earning a semifinal date with the winner of Group Steffi Graf. For Swiatek, the loss carried a rare sting. It marked the first time she has dropped back-to-back matches since 2021. Also at the WTA Finals, she fell to Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka in Guadalajara.

Now, while others will be either taking on the semis at the WTA Finals or resting, Swiatek won’t be off her feet for long. She’s heading home to Poland to join the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs from November 14-16 in Gorzow Wielkopolski, where Poland will face Romania and New Zealand. The big question now: can she regroup in time to lead her country back to the World Group?