Iga Świątek displayed visible frustration during a practice session in Miami ahead of the Miami Open, following her quarterfinal loss at Indian Wells. She trained with coach Wim Fissette and appeared to argue with her team. Despite this, she told officials she felt great in practice but noted adjustments needed for matches.
Iga Świątek arrived in Florida for the Miami Open after a quarterfinal defeat to Elina Svitolina at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. During a practice session on March 17, 2026, the Polish player showed signs of frustration, training alongside coach Wim Fissette and engaging in an argument with her team. Observers noted her body language reflected ongoing dissatisfaction with her performance post-Indian Wells loss, where she smashed her towel and lashed out at her team after dropping into her chair in anger. Match stats highlighted her struggles: she won 62% of first-serve points with eight double faults and three aces, compared to Svitolina's 73% win rate, five double faults, and five aces. Both players won 15 of 34 second-serve points. Świątek enters the Miami Open as the second seed with a first-round bye, facing Magda Linette in the second round. Their only prior meeting was a 6-1, 6-1 win for Świątek at the 2023 China Open. Her best Miami result came in 2022, defeating Naomi Osaka in the final for her fourth WTA 1000 title. Recent form has been challenging, with quarterfinal exits in Melbourne (to Elena Rybakina), Doha (to Maria Sakkari), and Indian Wells—all to lower-ranked opponents. She has dropped to world No. 3 behind Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, with a 1-6 record against top-10 players since the 2025 US Open. Coach Dmitry Tursunov commented, “It’s unlikely she’ll be able to get out of this slump. We’re not even talking about returning to the top of the WTA Rankings. We’re talking about staying in the top five.” He added, “How many more warning signals does Iga – who is currently 10th in the ranking [WTA Race To Riyadh] need? I don’t ever remember her being under such pressure in her career or during her clay court competitions.” Świątek said of practice, “I felt great during practice, but obviously, it’s usually you do like the close patterns there. So it’s going to also take some adjustment during matches, I would say.”
