Swiatek, after squandering a 5-0 lead against Zheng: "I started missing and nothing was working"

Iga Swiatek leaves the US Open in tears and with the feeling of missing a great opportunity to fight for her second title in New York. Especially after being 5-0 up in the first set and having three set points against a Qinwen Zheng who made a heroic comeback (7-5, 6-3) to end the Polish player's dream.

However, in the press conference following her defeat, she tried to rationalize the comeback she experienced and explained how her feelings on the court could be summarized on a day when nothing went her way, leading her to finish 2026 without winning any Grand Slam, something that hadn’t happened since 2021.

Image

Swiatek explained how Zheng came back from 5-0

"I felt like I started making too many mistakes, she started playing better, and I allowed her back into the match. But honestly, my concentration was the same as always. I wanted to play like I always do. I just started making too many errors, I tried to adjust, but at that moment, nothing was working. I knew I was going to get another chance and wanted to take it, but I missed them all."

The self-belief? Extraordinary.

After starting the match 0-5 down in 20 minutes, Zheng Qinwen takes out Swiatek 7-5, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/WHUGzShzrV

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2026

"Today I wouldn’t say it was about mentality. It was more that I started making errors, you know, with easy balls, and Qinwen stopped making mistakes. She played the balls better. Yes. I feel like I’ve gotten over it. Obviously, it’s not as easy for me to play here as on a slightly slower surface where the ball bounces a bit higher. But I still think I could have played a bit better, so it’s a shame. Nonetheless, I feel that this part of the season has been better in terms of managing that situation."

Swiatek claims that the US Open in 2022 was an exception in her career

"All the US Opens except for 2022 have been like this. So we’ve faced many defeats. Obviously, it’s not the best thing to say, but in tennis, you’re more used to losing than winning. So I don’t feel like I need to recover from anything. I just need to focus on work before the next tournaments, and there will be other opportunities to play good tennis. I will focus on growing and developing my game. That’s all."

Swiatek avoided dramatizing Zheng's comeback

"It’s just a match. I’ll try to play the same way I always do. What do you mean? Do you think it's something incredible or strange? You can lose a set from any score, so there’s nothing special about it. It just happened, and that’s it. I was hitting the balls poorly. I didn’t feel that I had the space to find better sensations. I don’t know. I missed a lot of shots with the frame of the racket. I wasn’t hitting the ball at the right spot. It’s not easy to adjust the basic things in the game when they’re not working."

"I just tried to focus on having a smooth rhythm and all that, but I also didn’t have good timing. I wasn’t hitting the ball well. It’s hard to get over that when it happens. Maybe I could have played more confidently or something, but I didn’t feel I had the space against Qinwen to do so. If I had been more solid than her, I would have won the match, but I wasn’t solid, and I was making too many mistakes,” concluded a Iga Swiatek who continues to struggle to make the necessary leap to be one of the best tennis players in the world.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Swiatek, tras desaprovechar un 5-0 contra Zheng: "Empecé a fallar y ya nada funcionaba"