Iga Swiatek On Why "Nothing Worked" Against Coco Gauff in Madrid

On Thursday, Coco Gauff defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets at the Madrid Open semifinal: 6-1, 6-1.

Gauff's dominant win marked her third consecutive victory over Swiatek and was further proof that the Polish star is no longer unstoppable on clay courts.

During her brief post-match press conference, Swiatek was asked what she found most difficult during her lopsided loss.

Iga Swiatek: Today, for sure, everything collapsed tennis-wise. I feel like I wasn't even in the right place with my feet before the shots. I wish I would have moved better because I think that would give me an opportunity to bounce back. pic.twitter.com/t1bxMmVmOC
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) May 1, 2025

The WTA World No. 2 said, "Honestly, there's nothing like to walk through because it was all pretty much the same from the beginning to the end. I couldn't really get my level up.

Coco played good, but I think it's on me that I didn't really move well; I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness, and with that kind of game like, it was pretty bad," said Swiatek.

When asked if it was just a bad day or something more, Swiatek did not know the answer. "Honestly, I don't know now. I feel like I haven't been moving well, and the tennis also was like on and off for most of the tournament," said Swiatek.

Iga 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/Nz3uyk1twM
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 1, 2025

She continued, "So I wasn't really sure what I have in my toolbox, you know, but yeah, for sure, like I didn't even have a plan B because nothing was working today…"

Swiatek concluded her remarks with a hint at her mindset and plans going forward.

"Today, everything kind of collapsed tennis-wise. I feel like I wasn't even in the right place with my feet before the shots. I wish I would have moved better, because I think that would get me any opportunity to bounce back," said Swiatek.

what. a. performance. 🤯@CocoGauff stuns the defending champ Swiatek, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the FINAL in Madrid! #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/3OFtNSoeRu
— wta (@WTA) May 1, 2025

Swiatek concluded, "I've been forcing myself to go lower, to be more precise with my feet because it's not going by itself. So, hopefully, one day, it's going to click. But I'm not expecting anything. I'm just going to try to work on that."

Swiatek will have just a few days to prepare for next week's Italian Open in Rome. She currently has a record of 26-8 on the season with zero titles.

Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the tennis court and beyond.

More Tennis News

New Balance unveils Coco Gauff's tennis shoes for Roland Garros.

The ASICS x A.P.C. collaboration is taking over the Madrid Open.

Jannik Sinner appears to have a new girlfriend.

Nick Kyrgios implied he is playing in the 2025 French Open but is not on the entry list.

Qinwen Zheng explains the "many" reasons why she lost in the Madrid Open.