"Not judging myself and no one should" - Iga Swiatek issues clear response to her title drought amid tumultuous year

Iga Swiatek recently gave her thoughts on the title drought she has endured since winning her fourth French Open title last year. The Pole has admittedly not been too hard on herself despite having struggled with results at big tournaments lately.

Following her 2024 Roland Garros triumph, Swiatek suffered some heartbreaking defeats, which included a third-round upset loss at Wimbledon, settling for the bronze medal in women's singles at the Paris Olympics, and an uncharacteristic quarterfinal defeat at the US Open. The 23-year-old was also handed a one-month doping suspension in September-October for testing positive for trimetazidine.

After returning from the break, the five-time Major winner surrendered the World No. 1 position to her archrival Aryna Sabalenka, as the Belarusian was the more in-form player last season. She had to endure another heartbreak in Melbourne this year, going out to eventual champion Madison Keys in three sets. In that context, the World No. 2 was asked during her pre-tournament press conference in Indian Wells whether the last nine months have been alarming for her.

In response, Iga Swiatek maintained that she had little to no qualms with her current form while insisting she was eager to win silverware on the pro tour again. The Pole also refused to "judge herself" based on such a small period of underwhelming results.

"Well, you know, I also couldn't play all of the tournaments (smiling). I accept how my situation looks like, and for sure I work hard to improve and to have chances to win tournaments," Iga Swiatek told the media in Indian Wells on Wednesday. "But, you know, my year after Roland Garros wasn't so easy and smooth as usual. I'm not, you know, judging myself and no one should."

Swiatek has compiled a respectable 14-4 win/loss record on the WTA Tour this year so far. Having received a first-round Bye in Indian Wells, the 23-year-old will be eager to turn her season around when she takes on France's Caroline Garcia in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament on Friday.

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Iga Swiatek has enjoyed a dominant run at Indian Wells with two titles to her name

Iga Swiatek poses with the Indian Wells title in 2022 | Image Source: Getty

Iga Swiatek can take respite in the fact that she has won the BNP Paribas Open title twice in her career. The Pole recorded her first triumph at the Palm Springs event in 2022, beating sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari in the final. The title victory also marked her 11th consecutive win that year. Swiatek would go on to 26 more matches without a single loss en route to picking up titles in Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Paris.

The World No. 2 then secured her second Indian Wells title two years later, getting the better of Sakkari again in the summit clash. She notably didn't drop a single set during her campaign at the 1000-level event and will be expected to carry the same rich vein of form into the Californian desert this year.