Iga Swiatek downs Naomi Osaka to reach Italian Open quarter-finals in dominant clay display

The six-time Grand Slam champion has endured an inconsistent season by her standards, failing to reach a semi-final on the WTA Tour so far in 2026 and not lifting a title since Wimbledon last July.

Her struggles were particularly evident during the early hard-court swing, which included a surprise second-round exit at the Miami Open in March.

Following that setback, Swiatek made a coaching change, parting ways with Wim Fissette and appointing Francisco Roig as her new coach.

But there was no instant success on her favourite clay surface as she was beaten by Mirra Andreeva in the last eight of the Stuttgart Open and then retired with illness from her round of 32 match against Ann Li at the Madrid Open.

Swiatek also looked far from comfortable during her opening match in Rome against Caty McNally as she needed three sets to beat the American, but two matches later and the "old" Swiatek appears to be back.

After hammering Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 in the third round, the Pole defeated fellow former world No 1 Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-1 to secure a last-eight encounter against Jessica Pegula.

"From the beginning till the end I knew what to do, and I did that great. I was pretty confident with my game," the three-time Italian Open winner stated confidently after match.

She has now worked with Roig for nearly two full months and despite the results not going her way in their first two tournaments in Germany and Spain, Swiatek feels they clicked from day one.

"Honestly, I felt like I understood Francis from the beginning. I guess it also depends on the specific, like, relationship you have with the coach," she explained.

"But I think any player wants a coach like with a good eye, a clear plan of what to do, how to achieve that. Francis has a really nice touch in terms of also, like, adjusting the practice to what the player needs right now. Also he's aware of kind of all the factors that are coming in.

"It all kind of clicks together, I would say, both physical, mental and technical part on the practices. You know that he's aware of all of these. It's nice."

Swiatek's win over Osaka also means she is almost assured of staying at No 3 in the WTA Rankings ahead of Coco Gauff as the American will need to win the title to usurp the Pole.

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