Iga Swiatek lost to Alex Eala, 6-7, 2-6, in the third round of Wimbledon.
The defending champion suffered another heartbreaking Grand Slam defeat, this time at the hands of the ever-popular Eala.
How many Grand Slams will Alex Eala win in her career? 🏆
She's just knocked out the defending Wimbledon champion!
Swiatek has endured a difficult 2026 campaign, and things aren’t getting any better.
During her latest post-match press conference, Swiatek delivered a brutally honest assessment of her game.
Iga Swiatek says she isn’t expecting good results as she isn’t playing at a high enough level
Swiatek insists she isn’t bothered about results right now, and instead chooses to ‘trust the process’.
“You need to trust the process, for sure,” said Swiatek.
“Honestly, I don’t care anymore about the results.
“I’ve been so focused on them that it’s hard to continue like that.
“So I’m really trying to, like, let it go.
“I don’t have good results, so I’m not going to expect good results from myself because they’re just not happening.
“I need to work from the beginning and try to just get my tennis better.”
Swiatek struggled at the beginning of the 2025 season as well, but bounced back in the second half of the year, winning Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Open, and the Korea Open.
Seven months into 2026, Swiatek has failed to build on her strong end to 2025, and she has yet to reach her first final of the season.
Iga Swiatek’s 2026 record
| Tournament | Performance | Match wins | Defeat(s) |
| United Cup | Champions | 3 (Eva Lys, Suzan Lamens, Maya Joint) | Coco Gauff, Belinda Bencic |
| Australian Open | Quarter-final | 4 (Yue Yuan, Marie Bouzkova, Anna Kalinskaya, Maddison Inglis) | Elena Rybakina |
| Qatar Open | Quarter-final | 2 (Janice Tjen, Daria Kasatkina) | Maria Sakkari |
| Indian Wells | Quarter-final | 3 (Kayla Day, Maria Sakkari, Karolina Muchova) | Elina Svitolina |
| Miami Open | Second round | – | Magda Linette |
| Stuttgart Open | Quarter-final | 1 (Laura Siegemund) | Mirra Andreeva |
| Madrid Open | Third round | 1 (Daria Snigur) | Ann Li |
| Italian Open | Semi-final | 4 (Caty McNally, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Naomi Osaka, Jessica Pegula) | Elina Svitolina |
| French Open | Fourth round | 3 (Emerson Jones, Sara Bejlek, Magda Linette) | Marta Kostyuk |
| Bad Homburg Open | Second round | – | Emma Navarro |
| Wimbledon | Third round | 2 (Taylor Townsend, Karolina Pliskova) | Alex Eala |
Swiatek had hoped her results would improve when she replaced Wim Fissette with Rafael Nadal’s former coach, Francisco Roig, ahead of the clay-court season.
But except for an impressive run to the Italian Open semis, Swiatek has arguably struggled even more since Roig joined the team.
The Pole now sits sixth in the ‘Live WTA Rankings’, although the ‘Live WTA Race’ makes for even bleaker viewing.
Live WTA Rankings
- 1. Aryna Sabalenka – 8,550 points
- 2. Elena Rybakina – 8,143 points
- 3. Jessica Pegula – 6,111 points
- 4. Mirra Andreeva – 5,293 points
- 5. Coco Gauff – 5,109 points
- 6. Iga Swiatek – 4,539 points
- 7. Amanda Anisimova – 4,353 points
- 8. Elina Svitolina – 4,351 points
- 9. Karolina Muchova – 4,108 points
- 10. Victoria Mboko – 3,580 points
There, Swiatek sits 11th, three places outside the WTA Finals qualification spots.
Live WTA Race
- 1. Mirra Andreeva – 4,999 points
- 2. Aryna Sabalenka – 4,945 points
- 3. Elena Rybakina – 4,627 points
- 4. Elina Svitolina – 4,116 points
- 5. Jessica Pegula – 3,760 points
- 6. Karolina Muchova – 3,210 points
- 7. Coco Gauff – 2,944 points
- 8. Marta Kostyuk – 2,735 points
- 9. Victoria Mboko – 2.393 points
- 10. Sorana Cirstea – 2,045 points
- 11. Iga Swiatek – 1,954 points
Unless things pick up soon, the six-time Grand Slam champion will miss out on the WTA Finals for the first time since 2020.
And she will lose her place in the world’s top 10, something that would have seemed unthinkable just a few short years ago.
Iga Swiatek should make bold schedule change after latest Grand Slam defeat
Swiatek is in freefall, and if she doesn’t change something soon, it might not be long before we’re reminiscing about her ‘glory days’ rather than watching them.
The Pole is expected to head over to North America next, where she will prepare for the two WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati before the US Open.
However, there is another route she could take, which might just give her the confidence boost she is so desperately in need of.
Swiatek could attend one of the two WTA 250 clay-court events in Europe later this month.
European clay-court events in July
- Iasi Open (Romania) – Week beginning July 13
- Hamburg Open (Germany) – Week beginning July 20
Playing on her favourite surface against weaker opposition, Swiatek would be in with a great chance to win her first title of the season.
Then, she could travel to North America with at least some of the pressure lifted off her shoulders.
