Iga Swiatek upset by 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva

Mirra Andreeva defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Iga Swiatek reacts during her match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Iga Swiatek reacts during her match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. / IMAGO / Hasenkopf

The Middle East Swing of the WTA schedule has not been kind to the world's top-ranked players. The latest star to suffer a shocking upset is World No. 2 Iga Swiatek.

At 17 years old, Mirra Andreeva has picked up another impressive victory in her young career. Andreeva defeated Swiatek in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: 6-3, 6-3.

Last summer, Andreeva defeated then-No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open. Today, the Russian tennis prodigy beat Swiatek in convincing fashion in just 96 minutes. It was revenge for Andreeva, who lost a three-set match to Swiatek at the 2024 Cincinnati Open.

A back-and-forth match eventually felt in favor of Andreeva, who rattled off four straight games to pull off the upset. The No. 14 hit ten aces and three double faults, compared to Swiatek's zero aces and three double faults.

Even worse for Swiatek, the Polish superstar hit 31 unforced errors to Andreeva's 13 errors. Andreeva was 4/8 on break points compared to Swiatek's 1/8 on break point opportunities.

After the match, Andreeva admitted to being nervous before the contest, especially with the crowd supporting Swiatek. She added, "It wasn't easy with all the fans. I think we were even. I had a people supporting."

Meanwhile, Swiatek said, "I'm not happy with the results. I feel like I underperformed. For sure, I need to talk with my team a bit and plan the next weeks a bit differently because I haven't had much time to practice before these tournaments."

Swiatek added, "I felt that my tennis, there were some things missing that should have been there."

Swiatek is now 14-4 on the season and joins other stars like Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, who struggled in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Andreeva is now 11-3 and will face the winner of Elena Rybakina and Sofia Kenin in the semifinals tomorrow.

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More Tennis News

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The WTA is banning a fan with "fixated behavior" on Emma Raducanu.

Iga Swiatek reveals how she spent 4-hour rain delay in Dubai.

Coco Gauff suffers another early exit in Dubai.

(Interview) Jessica Pegula discusses her love of dogs, tennis goals, and more.


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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.