From tears in Paris to flying celebration 7 months later: Iga Swiatek exacts revenge on Zheng Qinwen to extend Indian Wells win streak

Iga Swiatek kept her title defense at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open alive with a dominant win over Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinal. The Pole was at her best, winning 6-3, 6-3 against her Chinese opponent.

The last time Swiatek and Zheng met each other, it was a significant moment in both players' careers. The duo contested in the semifinal of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Going into the match, Swiatek was the undisputed favorite as she had a 35-2 win-loss record at Roland Garros where she has won four French Open titles, and she had a 6-0 record against Zheng.

However, in a remarkable upset, the Chinese player emerged victorious, winning 6-2, 7-5 against the top seed. This ended Swiatek's gold medal hopes and paved the way for Zheng to clinch the gold, which was a turning point in her career.

After her Olympic loss, the Pole was extremely disappointed. While interacting with the press, she could not speak properly, as she had tears in her eyes.

However, when Swiatek met Zheng at Indian Wells this time, she did not carry any baggage from the Olympic loss. The second seed was confident and at her offensive best, breaking Zheng's serve twice and taking a 5-1 lead in the first set. The Chinese player got a late break, but the Pole closed the first set at 6-3.

The second set was similar to the first. Swiatek did not raise her foot off the pedal, keeping the pressure on Zheng to take a 5-2 lead in the set. With the Pole serving for that match, the Chinese player got a break back to show some fight, but the defending champion broke right back in the next game to win the match.

The Pole was elated with the win, stretching her arms and jumping around the court in joy.

Swiatek will now face 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the semifinal on March 14.

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Iga Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva are on impressive win streaks ahead of their Indian Wells 2025 clash

In Picture: Mirra Andreeva (L) and Iga Swiatek (R) (Getty)

Ahead of their semifinal meeting, both Iga Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva are on impressive 10-match win streaks. While the Russian teenager has won 10 straight matches on Tour this season, including the WTA 1000 title in Dubai and four of her matches here; Swiatek is on a 10-match win streak at Indian Wells, having won the title here last year.

Like Zheng, Andreeva is another opponent against whom Swiatek lost in her last encounter. The duo met at the Dubai Tennis Championships last month, which ended in a dominant 6-3, 6-3 win for the Russian.

Overall the head-to-head is 1-1, as Iga Swiatek won the first encounter at the 2024 Cincinnati Open 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.