Not too long ago, Iga Swiatek was the unrivaled queen of clay. Then she appeared to change her game to adjust better to hard courts and grass. After her showing against Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, Swiatek might be back to being the master of the dirt.
Pegula is the most metronomic player on the WTA tour. She does nothing elite in terms of physical skill, though she does everything well. Her toughness and her drive to never give up set her apart. If she was ever going to give up, it was in the second set of the match against the Pole.
Swiatek played as close to the perfect tennis match as anyone could play. She led 5-0 in the first set quickly, and Pegula wasn't necessarily giving the match away. She was simply playing defensive tennis on nearly every point. Switake was pushing her around the court, hitting to high-degree angles, and overpowering with her serve.
Iga Swiatek destroys Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Italian Open
Through the first four games of the second set, Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion and three-time Rome Masters winner, had only dropped eight points on her serve. It was an astonishingly clinical display of tennis. She wasn't just beating Pegula with high kick serves and bombastic forehands, but she was reminding the entire sport of what she is capable of.
In set two, Swiatek again jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable lead, 4-0. Finally, Pegula got a win, so at least she wouldn't be bagelled in the second set. No chance of making a comeback in the match existed, though. Swiatek was simply hitting her forehand differently and more precisely.
No one could have stopped the Pole as well as she was playing. That Jessica Pegula won two games in the second set to only drop it 2-6 was an underrated accomplishment. Swiatek is, indeed, back to being the queen of clay.
Iga Swiatek will next play the winner of the Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina match in the semifinals. The Pole, ranked as WTA No. 3 has played Rybakina, ranked No. 2, have played 12 times, and split the meetings. Rybakina has won the last two matches. Swiatek leads the head-to-head versus Svitolina 4-2.
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