It takes a lot to rattle Iga Świątek on a clay court, but her run at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart just came to an early, disappointing end. The former world No. 1 was knocked out in the quarterfinals by 18-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva in a three-set battle (3-6, 6-4, 6-3). While Świątek is fresh off training under Rafael Nadal and Francisco Roig on the dirt, this time, the young Russian teenager has seemingly cracked the code.
This actually marks Andreeva’s third consecutive victory over Świątek, making her one of the few players on tour who consistently give the Pole trouble. Following the loss, Świątek was visibly frustrated but tried to look at the big picture, giving fans a candid look at where her game fell short.
Iga Świątek Admits Baseline Progress Wasn’t Enough in Upset Loss to Mirra Andreeva
In the post-match presser at Stuttgart, Świątek noted that her groundstrokes were actually working well for stretches of the match and felt she was moving in the right direction.
“Yeah, I mean, not the result I wanted, for sure,” Świątek told reporters. “I think my baseline game was fine, and I see a progress there comparing to the last tournaments.”
“There were moments where I felt like I was playing better, for sure, than other moments where I dropped the level. She played better for a while, so I think these parts of the match that I played well, I felt like, you know, full control over what’s going on. So this is something positive. You just need to keep that towards the end of the match. From my point of view, for sure, I didn’t feel super confident in my serve,” said the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Świątek’s 2026 hasn’t gone as expected. She failed to reach a single semifinal in her first few tournaments, including an uncharacteristic opening-match loss to Magda Linette in Miami, and that was the catalyst for a team shakeup. The 24-year-old officially ended her partnership with coach Wim Fissette and brought in Roig, Nadal’s former longtime coach.
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Any loss is a lot to process, but there is no reason for Świątek’s camp to panic. The clay swing has just started, and the indoor clay courts in Stuttgart play much faster and slicker than traditional outdoor dirt.
Świątek can now take a few days to reset before heading to the massive WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, where she can get her serving confidence back up before the French Open in late May.
