How Iga Swiatek got back in the groove after flawless Doha run

WATCH: Swiatek spoke to the crowd after winning the Qatar TotalEnergies Open title.

“It just doesn’t make sense for me to think about last year’s tournament and this year’s tournament, and think it’s the same story,” Iga Swiatek said shortly after she arrived in Doha last week.

It might make a little more sense to her now.

Twelve months ago, in the 2022 Qatar TotalEnergies Open final, Swiatek tore through Anett Kontaveit, 6-2, 6-0. The No. 4 seed’s defenses were no match for Swiatek’s barrage of dive-bombing ground strokes. Today, in the 2023 final, Swiatek tore through Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 6-0. The No. 2 seed’s defenses were also no match for Swiatek’s barrage of dive-bombing ground strokes.

By the end, after storming through a second set that became more one-sided with every swing, Swiatek seemed willing to entertain the idea that Doha brings out her best.

“I really found my rhythm here,” she said. “After a tough beginning of the season I could really stay focused from the beginning to the end of the matches.”

In reality, she didn’t have to keep her focus for long. Swiatek lost a total of five games in the tournament. She beat Danielle Collins, 6-0, 6-1 in her opener; received a walkover when Belinda Bencic pulled out of their quarterfinal; and beat Veronika Kudermetova, 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals.

I knew what I did wrong [at the] Australian Open and over my whole stay in Australia. I really wanted to kind of focus on getting my expectations lower and not expect from myself that I’m gonna, you know, right now, play perfectly all the time. Iga Swiatek

Swiatek has talked about having a newfound focus on her serve in 2023, but it was her return that was unstoppable on Saturday. Pegula won just 47 percent of her first-serve points—yes, first-serve points—and 26 percent of her second-serve points.

The stiff breeze that swirled through the arena didn’t do the American any favors, either. Her fairly flat ground strokes drifted in the wind, while Swiatek’s heavy topspin cut through it more safely. We probably should have known what was coming when, in the opening game, Pegula hit a very good backhand deep into the court, and Swiatek simply swiped a forehand—off the short-hop, with no backswing—for a dismissively vicious crosscourt winner. Pegula, in disbelief, challenged the call, but the replay showed that Swiatek had put the ball exactly where she wanted, on the sideline.

Despite the similarities from last year to this year, Swiatek is right that she’s in a different place now than she was when she won in Doha in 2022. That was the start of everything for her; it’s hard to believe now, but she was only the seventh seed here last year. She wouldn’t lose again until Wimbledon in July. Now she’s No. 1 instead of No. 7, and she’s the owner of two more major titles.

Yet she has also suffered a few consequential defeats recently. She lost to Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals; Pegula at United Cup; and Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open. In the last 12 months, Swiatek has looked like a legitimate successor to the WTA’s dominant champions of the past; but she has also looked human—i.e., erratic and confused about her tactics. Maybe Swiatek is a dominant champion for an era when athletes are more analytical and forthcoming about their psychological ups and downs.

“I knew what I did wrong [at the] Australian Open and over my whole stay in Australia,” Swiatek admitted this week. “I really wanted to kind of focus on getting my expectations lower and not expect from myself that I’m gonna, you know, right now, play perfectly all the time.

“Last season was so strange, actually, that it can actually mess up with your head a little bit.”

They say you shouldn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Swiatek learned that lesson well this week in Doha, and the result was that she was back to her old near-perfect self.

But whenever you think you’ve answered a question in sports, and especially in tennis, a new one crops up right away. Swiatek will face her next challenge this week in Dubai, where she’s the top seed in a loaded draw that includes Sabalenka, the newly crowned Australian Open champion. WTA fans have been asking for a rivalry; could we see the start of a new one soon?

Swiatek looks ready. Every time you think she can’t stay in the ball-striking stratosphere, she does.