When Iga Swiatek takes the court for the Mutua Madrid Open semifinal, she won’t just be facing Coco Gauff—she’ll be confronting a version of herself that’s been wobbling ever since that straight sets defeat to Madison Keys in the Australian Open semifinal.
The five-time Grand Slam champion had a rocky start to her quarterfinal clash with Keys once again, dropping the first set 0-6 in just 24 minutes. It was the first time Swiatek lost a set by such a margin since Eastbourne 2021—and only the second time in her career she went on to win after doing so, the previous occasion being against Monica Puig at Roland-Garros 2019. But she regrouped swiftly, taking a comfort break and bouncing back with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Madrid exposes the cracks
Despite the result, Swiatek’s campaign in Madrid has been far from smooth. She has been pushed to a deciding set in three of her four matches—an unfamiliar position for someone who has long dominated the clay swing. Her tough routes against rising stars like Alexandra Eala and Diana Shnaider were uncharacteristic of the Swiatek who breezed through opponents in Paris the past two seasons.
Still, there’s a silver lining. The Pole is the reigning Madrid champion and was a finalist here in 2023, holding a 2-0 record in Madrid semifinals. The city has brought out some of her best tennis in recent memory. But she enters this clash with the burden of a five-match losing streak in semi finals since lifting her fourth Roland-Garros title in 2024.
Gauff’s timing couldn’t be better
On the other side of the net, Coco Gauff has hit her stride at exactly the right time. After an opening-set bagel against Dayana Yastremska in round one, the world No. 4 has been flawless, winning eight consecutive sets and taking down the likes of Belinda Bencic, Ann Li, and seventh seed Mirra Andreeva. The 21-year-old had never gone past the last-16 in Madrid before, but this year, she’s finally translating her clay-court potential to the Spanish capital.
This is her fifth career semifinal on clay, boasting a 2-3 record. Her biggest achievements on the surface include winning Parma in 2021 and finishing runner-up at Roland-Garros in 2022. Yet, until now, she hadn’t made it to a semifinal in the 2025 season, a slow start following her triumphant end to 2024 that included titles at the China Open and WTA Finals.
Head-to-Head: A gap that’s narrowing
The head-to-head tilts heavily in Swiatek’s favour at 11-3, but Gauff will draw confidence from having won their last two meetings—at the WTA Finals in Riyadh in November 2024 and at the United Cup in January. Still, their most recent clay-court showdown was a one-sided affair, with Swiatek dropping just six games at Roland-Garros 2024.
Coco Gauff has clearly found her groove in Madrid, while Iga Swiatek is still searching for hers after months of inconsistency. Since that semifinal loss to Madison Keys in Melbourne, Swiatek hasn’t quite looked like the commanding clay-court queen the tour has come to fear. Even here in Madrid, she had to claw her way back after a shocking 0-6 opening set against Keys in the quarters. Now, with that same opponent finally conquered, the question remains: Is this the turning point for Swiatek’s form to rise again?