WTA Match of the Year, No. 5: Madison Keys topples Iga Swiatek in dramatic Australian Open semifinal

“Obviously looking at the math, I lost many points right now, but I know that it doesn't really matter. Any of us can win these tournaments,“ Swiatek reflected after seeing her hopes for a Roland Garros four-peat dashed by rival Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.

At that point, much was being made about the Pole’s title drought reaching the one-year mark. But it’s not as if her 2025 campaign had been disastrous. Swiatek held a match point on eventual Australian Open champ Madison Keys in a gripping final-four encounter and had 32 wins on the board after departing Paris. For whatever reason, she couldn’t clear her first five semifinal hurdles until flipping the script on the surface least expected.

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"Well, no": Iga Swiatek does not get bored of dominant wins | 2025 WTA Finals RR

For the first time in June, Swiatek found herself competing for a grass-court title. Thought she would lose out on the Bad Homburg championship to Jessica Pegula, what followed was one incredibly satisfying rewrite. Having gone 13-5 in her first five trips to the All England Club, all the pieces came together this time around for the former junior champion. Remarkably, Swiatek achieved a feat not seen since 1911 by earning a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the Wimbledon final over Amanda Anisimova—and became the first woman since Monica Seles to win her first six major finals.

Swiatek added a WTA 1000 title at Cincinnati and WTA 500 crown at Seoul in securing a fourth consecutive Top 2 year-end finish. A Career Grand Slam bid come January now lies ahead Down Under. —Matt Fitzgerald

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What's to Come in 2026?

For a 24-year-old with six Grand Slam titles to her name, “success” would seem simple: more. If you want to be specific, here are some options:

Complete a Career Slam in Melbourne
Reestablish dominance on the terre battue
Overtake her rival Aryna Sabalenka at the top

One way Swiatek can achieve these things is by doing something that wasn’t so simple in 2025: finding a Plan B, when Plan A isn’t working.

When Iga is on, you’ll see it on the scoreboard: last year she wonseventeen 6-0 sets, and 24 sets by 6-1.

But did you know that she also suffered four 6-0 set losses, and another nine by 6-1, in 2025? That doesn’t seem possible for a relatively dominant Top 2 player.

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By comparison, world No. 1 Sabalenka lost just two sets 6-1 in 2025, and none by 6-0; world No. 3 Coco Gauff lost just one set 6-0 in 2025, and three by 6-1.

Swiatek lost a set by 6-0 or 6-1 in 12 matches in 2025, and she won just three of those tilts.

The Pole’s highs remain soaring, and you only need to look back at Wimbledon if you need a reminder. (She dropped two total games in her semifinal and final.) But her lows have arguably been as low as they’ve been since she established herself in the sport’s elite.

As we approach the holiday season, presents are like bagels and breadsticks in tennis: it is better to give than to receive.—Ed McGrogan