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Iga Swiatek believes her own mistakes cost her dearly in a shocking 2-6, 2-6 defeat at the hands of Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells semifinals on Friday. While Rybakina produced a very high level of tennis, which Swiatek attested to, she feels she could have avoided defeat had she executed her plans better.
The world No. 1 also revealed struggles with a rib injury that caused her discomfort throughout the match.
Swiatek has now lost two consecutive tour-level matches and three consecutive matches across all competitions to Rybakina, all in straight sets. Earlier this year, Rybakina beat the Polish star 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Dissecting Friday's loss and what has ailed her against Rybakina of late, Swiatek lamented her own mistakes as well as a lack of full fitness.
"Honestly - I feel like it's still more me and kind of my mistakes," Iga Swiatek said in a press conference after the match.
"I'm also like not feeling 100% physically. I have a little like discomfort in my rib, and we're going to consult with medical team."
Swiatek also praised Rybakina's high level of tennis, admitting that she feels the need to be even better each time she goes up against the reigning Wimbledon champion.
"Well, for sure, Elena played great tennis today, and I feel like against her I have to play better. She was playing really well," the 21-year-old added.
Friday's loss also ended Swiatek's chances of becoming only the second woman in more than 30 years to defend the Indian Wells singles title. However, she will continue to maintain a massive lead over the rest of the pack at the top of the WTA rankings.
Iga Swiatek laments not being able to execute specific plans against Elena Rybakina after Australian Open
Iga Swiatek also revealed that she and her coaching staff had prepared specific plans against Elena Rybakina after learning their lessons from the Australian Open defeat. The Pole said that she was ready to use her coach's advice and execute those plans against Rybakina, but come the chance at Indian Wells, she was simply unable to execute them.
"We were thinking about the Australian Open more like we wanted to kind of learn a lesson from that match," Swiatek explained.
"We were, you know, just analyzing, but mainly my coach did that, so I wanted just to kind of use his tips and improve my game. But I wasn't able to do that today," she added.
While Swiatek still has plans to play the Miami Open despite injury concerns, she admitted that she would have to wait for the results of scans and tests on her injured rib before taking the final call on her Miami title defense.
