Iga Swiatek believes her struggles in 2025 are down to her need for perfection as she prepares to defend her Italian Open title.

Swiatek is yet to win a title or even reach a final this year, but has shown consistency by reaching at least the quarter-finals of each tournament she has played in so far.

In 2024, the Pole won five titles, including three in a row on clay in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, the last of which was her fourth triumph at the French Open.

"This year I feel like I am struggling a bit more with my perfectionism," Swiatek said at a press conference.

"I have a love-and-hate relationship with my perfectionism. These clay court tournaments, I just try to reflect on how I see my game and how I also saw previous seasons.

"The thing is, I only remember the good stuff because I was winning titles and everything.

"I'm making decisions that are not really good at the moment because I just remember how it felt in previous tournaments.

"I assume it's going to go in, and then I make mistakes. It's not the same, I'm confused."

 

 

 

 

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Swiatek has reached four semi-finals so far this season, but lost each of them. She was knocked out in the last four at the Australian Open, Qatar Open, Indian Wells and Madrid, where Coco Gauff ended her title defence in straight sets.

After her 6-1 6-1 triumph, Gauff became only the second player to concede fewer than five games to Swiatek in a WTA-level match on clay, after Simon Halep (one game, Roland-Garros 2019).

Despite Swiatek's frustrations, the world number two is confident she can continue to make improvements ahead of the second grand slam of the year.

"The match with Coco for sure wasn't good," said Swiatek.

"I had trouble focusing. I wasn't moving well. I think everything kind of built up at one moment. That's why the score was like that.

"It's just like one day. You can't judge everything by it. I'm continuing the work that I've been doing. I trust the process. We'll see on the next one.

"I'm proud of the consistency. Still, I feel I'm as consistent as I was in previous years. But for sure, I also want to win some tournaments. That's the goal."

Swiatek also confirmed she intends to play at Wimbledon in July after reports in the Polish media suggested she would be skipping the event, along with the rest of the grass-court swing, to prepare for this year's US Open.

However, Swiatek heavily refuted those reports.

"Shouldn't believe this stuff," she said of the rumours. "During [the] past few days, I saw a million comments that were not true.

"I'm not going to skip Wimbledon. I really want to learn how to play on grass better. Every year is another opportunity. I will play Wimbledon, for sure, unless I get injured."