Iga Swiatek might feel unlucky after becoming just the fourth woman in the last 20 years not to reach the semifinal after winning two matches in the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals.
Although Swiatek could still mathematically finish as the year-end world No. 1 before the WTA Finals began, expectations were lower than usual for the Pole because she had not played in nearly two months.
That was due to her and longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski splitting. Swiatek announced Naomi Osaka's former coach, Wim Fissette, as Wiktorowski's replacement and they started working together ahead of the WTA Finals.
Although Fissette is very excited to work with Swiatek and called her the best female athlete in tennis history, he and the four-time Grand Slam champion admitted it might take some time for his ideas to bear fruit.
Also, Swiatek not playing for almost two months meant she was always going to be somewhat rusty at the WTA Finals, regardless of how her coaching relationship with Fissette is developing.
The world No. 2 needed a miraculous comeback against Barbora Krejcikova to win in the opening round. Swiatek trailed 4-6, 0-3 against the Wimbledon champion but found a way to recover and triumph 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
However, Swiatek was far below her best against Coco Gauff in the next match. The American played a more solid match from start to finish to defeat Swiatek for just the second time in 13 matches.
Afterward, the five-time Grand Slam champion admitted to making mistakes such as not hitting with enough spin and being impatient in the rallies. Swiatek said she and Fissette both understood the mistakes she made.
The Pole recovered strongly in the next round, dismantling Daria Kasatkina for the loss of just one game. Kasatkina played the match as an alternate due to Jessica Pegula's withdrawal with an injury.
Unfortunately for Swiatek, that triumph did not matter. Krejcikova beat Gauff in straight sets to qualify as the group winner. Gauff was second, and Swiatek missed out on the semifinals in third.
There have only been three other women since 2003 who have not qualified for the semifinal despite winning two round-robin matches, showing how rare an occurrence it is.
Karolina Pliskova beat Krejcikova and Garbine Muguruza in 2021, but lost to Anett Kontaveit, who is now retired with a child. Krejcikova lost all her matches in the group that year, meaning one player was guaranteed not to qualify, which turned out to be Pliskova.
Ana Ivanovic also suffered that fate in 2014. Despite beating Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard, the 2008 French Open champion's straight sets loss against Serena Williams was enough to eliminate her.
Lindsay Davenport was the other case. The American defeated Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva, but did not make it to the next stage because of a loss against Anastasia Myskina.
Swiatek might feel unlucky but her season is not over yet. The 23-year-old will represent Team Poland at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals after reversing her decision to not compete at the event.
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