Iga Swiatek has added another trophy to her 2025 collection after a gritty comeback win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final of the Korea Open in Seoul. After dropping the first set 1-6, Swiatek dug deep to claim the next two sets 7-6(3), 7-5, sealing her third title of the year.
Swiatek’s journey to the title wasn’t easy. The opening set was one to forget: she made multiple double faults, struggled with her errors, and found Alexandrova in full flow. The Russian broke serve three times in that first set and looked primed to dominate.
But Swiatek showed her resilience. In the second set, she steadied herself, trimmed the unforced mistakes, and fought through a tense finish. She found herself under pressure at 6-5, trailing late in the set, but forced her way into a tiebreaker, where she asserted control and claimed the set.
The third set maintained the high drama. Swiatek again gave Alexandrova openings — including serving three double faults in one game that gifted a break — but managed to regain composure. She tightened up her game, produced quality when it mattered, and sealed the win with a sharp forehand winner in the final game.
This title in Seoul is the third of Swiatek’s year, after her wins at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open. Those earlier victories showed her form on big stages; this one adds proof she can find a way even when things aren’t clicking from the start.
Swiatek herself admitted that the match was tougher than expected. “Honestly, I don’t know how I won it, because you were just playing great. I just tried to stay alive,” she said. She also made a nod to family history, joking that her win in Seoul made up for her father Tomasz not winning an Olympic medal when he rowed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Beyond the fight in the final, Swiatek’s path to the match illustrated her dominance in the tournament. She did not drop a set in earlier rounds, handling both her quarter-final and semi-final matches with relative ease.
The victory also gives her added momentum in the WTA rankings chase. With world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka having withdrawn from the China Open due to injury, Swiatek is in a strong position to close the gap as the season progresses.
What this win means moving forward
- Swiatek has reaffirmed her mental strength. Coming back from a rough start shows she can stay calm under pressure.
- Her ability to steady the match despite early mistakes is likely to boost her confidence in key upcoming tournaments.
- The ranking implications are significant; this title adds to her season tally and gives her more ground to make up in her bid for year-end No.1.
- For Alexandrova, the defeat is disappointing but not without positives—she pushed Swiatek hard and exposed moments of weakness in her opponent’s game. She’ll likely take encouragement from how close she came.
