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On Monday, November 5, Iga Swiatek was handed a surprising loss by Elena Rybakina at the ongoing WTA Finals. After the match, former pro tennis player Laura Robinson highlighted the Pole’s concerning interaction with her coach during the game.Swiatek has enjoyed a strong 2025 season, with the highlight of her year being her Wimbledon triumph. In Riyadh, the 24-year-old kicked off her campaign with a dominant win over Madison Keys, disposing of the American 6-1, 6-2. However, the six-time Grand Slam champion ran into problems in her clash against Elena Rybakina, suffering a 6-3, 1-6, 0-6 loss to the Kazakh.After Iga Swiatek's defeat, former British No. 1 Laura Robson highlighted the the one mistake that led to the Pole's game falling apart, telling Sky Sports Tennis,“She did not anticipate the changes Rybakina made after the first set. From there, that’s where the panic mode was hit by Swiatek. She just felt like she couldn’t do anything out there. You could see she was talking to Wim Fissett (her coach) and lots of hands signals. That was not a good sign.”Robson went on to highlight that Swiatek didn't seem to have a ‘Plan B’, adding,“Serving to Swiatek’s backhand made a difference. Then the willingness to compete when the rallies were over three shots was an issue. It’s tough when you are being outplayed. On a court like this, when it’s bouncing up so much, she probably didn’t know what the tactics would be. It didn’t really feel like there was a Plan B, but so much of that was to do with how well Rybakina was playing.”As a tennis player, Laura Robson made her debut on the senior circuit in 2008. The highlight of her career came four years later, when she won silver at the London Olympics partnered with Andy Murray.Iga Swiatek weighs in on her loss to Elena RybakinaSwiatek at the 2025 Korea Open (Image Source: Getty)After the strong start to her campaign at the WTA Finals, Iga Swiatek's loss to Elena Rybakina marks a disappointing result for the Pole. Weighing in on her defeat after the match, the 24-year-old stated that while she'll have to watch the match to fully understand the things she did wrong, she was unsatisfied with her performance, saying (as quoted by AOL.com),“I’ll have to watch and analyze. I just think I wasn’t that solid in getting back those fast, long shots. She was more aggressive and also more solid in finishing the rally. But I will have to watch to understand fully.”Up next, Iga Swiatek will return to action in Riyadh on Wednesday, November 5. She will take on Amanda Anisimova for her last group stage match of the WTA Finals.
