World No. 2 Iga Swiatek saw her hopes at the Doha Open come to an end after losing to what can now be considered her “Achilles’ heel,” Jelena Ostapenko. The Polish star was defeated by the Latvian in the semifinals of the tournament in Qatar with a score of 6-3, 6-1. With this, Ostapenko secured her fifth consecutive victory against Swiatek, maintaining a perfect record (5-0) in their head-to-head matchups.
Regardless of Swiatek’s high ranking or Ostapenko’s lower position in the WTA rankings, the outcome remained the same as in their previous encounters at Birmingham 2019, Indian Wells 2021, Dubai 2022, and the US Open 2023. Ostapenko remains one of the few players to have never lost against one of the world’s top-ranked players, denying Swiatek her dream of a fourth consecutive Doha Open title.
Cover photo: X (@WTA)
