Iga Swiatek is set to fall out of the world`s top two rankings for the first time in three years following her third-round exit at the Italian Open, where she was defeated by Danielle Collins.
The defending champion`s usual dominance on clay has seemed less pronounced this season. She will head into the upcoming French Open having not secured a clay-court title since winning Roland Garros last year.
After a challenging semi-final last week at the Madrid Open, where she won only two games against Coco Gauff, Swiatek was likely hoping for a strong performance to regain her form in Rome. However, the American Danielle Collins secured a decisive 6-1, 7-5 victory.
Swiatek, who had claimed the Rome title three times in the last four years, will now see her ranking drop to at least World No. 4. This early departure is also the first time since Cincinnati in 2021 that she has failed to reach the round of 16 at a WTA 1000-level event.
Despite holding a strong 7-1 head-to-head record against Collins before this match, another early defeat could pose concerns for the 23-year-old.
`I played against Iga so many times,` Collins said. `When you play that many close matches and get this close and also play some of your best tennis and lose, I think you learn a lot. I feel like I applied that today to the match.`
The five-time Grand Slam champion found herself quickly trailing 5-0 in the opening set before managing to get on the scoreboard and prevent a bagel.
Collins was highly effective from the baseline, employing a mix of powerful forehand and backhand return winners to dismantle Swiatek`s serve in a first set that was largely one-sided.
The second set proved more competitive, with the score tied at 4-4 and Swiatek showing glimpses of her brilliant form. However, Collins, a former Australian Open finalist, maintained her focus and sealed the victory in one hour and 44 minutes when Swiatek`s final return drifted wide.
Collins delivered an impressive 32 winners and capitalized on six out of eight break point opportunities, in contrast to Swiatek`s 22 unforced errors.
Swiatek has now suffered nine losses this year, which matches her total loss count from the entirety of 2023. Furthermore, she has not reached a single clay-court final in the lead-up to her defense of the French Open title.
In other Italian Open results in Rome, Jasmine Paolini defeated Ons Jabeur in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Peyton Stearns caused an upset by overcoming fifth seed Madison Keys 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
Diana Shnaider also secured a straightforward 6-3, 6-3 win against Jaqueline Cristian, while Jelena Ostapenko advanced after receiving a walkover against Laura Siegemund.
