Iga Swiatek draws concerning reaction from insider for looking like 'shadow' of herself in Coco Gauff decimation at Madrid Open

A tennis insider has reacted to Iga Swiatek's shocking defeat to Coco Gauff in the semifinal of the 2025 Madrid Open, which brought an end to the Pole's title defense. The American finally clinched her first win over Swiatek on clay on her sixth attempt.

Second seed Swiatek and fourth seed Gauff faced each other for the 15th time in their young careers at the Madrid Open. While many expected it to be a blockbuster clash, with the Pole as the favorite given her immense prowess on clay, it turned out to be a one-sided affair in Gauff's favor as she decimated Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in just an hour and four minutes.

Opining on the lopsided result, popular tennis insider Christopher Clarey shared on X (formerly Twitter) that though the 21-year-old was at her finest, the same couldn't be said about the five-time Grand Slam champion, who also had an emotional outburst during the match. He felt Iga Swiatek was a 'shadow' of her previous self.

"Yes Coco Gauff was brilliant today. Served superbly with seven aces and controlled the forehand by using heavy spin. But that was a shadow of the Swiatek we are used to seeing on red clay. Missed so many forehands that once would have been routine," he said.

Swiatek hasn't been having a great season, albeit by her high standards. Though she has consistently reached the latter stages of every tournament she competes in, the Pole has yet to win a title this year.

"I couldn't really get my level up, Coco Gauff played good, but I think it's on me" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff at the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open - Source: Getty

Though she acknowledged Coco Gauff's high quality, Iga Swiatek made an honest admission about her poor performance in the semifinals, admitting that she never really got going and listed out the key aspects where she lacked.

"I couldn't really get my level up. Coco played good, but, yeah, I think it's, you know, on me that I didn't really move well, I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness, and, yeah, with that kind of game like, yeah, it was pretty bad,” she said.

Swiatek also touched upon how she was unsure about how to use her weapons, and also didn't have a plan B to save herself against Gauff, who has now won three consecutive matches against the Pole.

"For sure I feel like I haven't been moving well and, you know, the tennis also was like on and off, you know, for most of the tournament. So I wasn't really sure what I have in my tool box, you know, but yeah, for sure, like I didn't even have a plan B because nothing was working today," she added.

While Iga Swiatek will look to bounce back in Rome at the Italian Open, Coco Gauff will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the 2025 Madrid Open.