Iga Swiatek names tension as the issue after straight-set loss to Marta Kostyuk

[p]The effects were evident as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Swiatek[/a]'s level dipped in ‌the second set of her 7-5, 6-1 defeat, sealing her earliest ‌exit from Paris since her debut campaign in 2019.[/p][p]It was a 25th birthday ‌to forget for Swiatek, who has not lifted a clay-court title ‌since her 2024 French Open triumph, and the Pole was clear why she was beaten comprehensively by 15th seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kostyuk-marta/8CZqQdSa/"]Kostyuk[/a].[/p][p][b]"I lost control of the match, and there was ‌no way to come back, because I felt ⁠worse and worse. This isn't positive, ‌and this is different than losing to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] in Rome or to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andreeva-mirra/lI6fOOat/"]​Mirra Andreeva[/a] in Stuttgart," Swiatek told reporters.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's not great. I know I lost because I was tense, and my body couldn't ​do... the proper things, but it's not the first time, as well. So yeah, I just need to work on it.[/b][/p][p][b]"Honestly, maybe the toughest ⁠loss is when you ​had the match in your hands, you made stupid decisions, you let it go, and your opponent suddenly came back.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's also bad when your tennis is terrible, and you know you were worse than the players you ‌play with. But I feel I lost today because Marta used the opportunity, and I was super tense."[/b][/p][image alt="Marta Kostyuk - Iga Swiatek match stats" id="8de65f5d-8c29-43eb-bdde-ad1d56ed98f5" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="64137d73-a20e-4dc6-b92a-6538c1588801" original-width="1080" original-height="1350" /][h2]Season to improve?[/h2][p]Swiatek said she was fully aware of what she needs to work on to improve and would not rush it.[/p][p][b]"Maybe it's not going to take one week or one month," the six-time Grand Slam champion added.[/b][/p][p][b]"Maybe it's going to take even a season or something, but I need to believe that I can work through this and not be thrown off so quickly."[/b][/p][embed guid="52eb7557-3d87-4e3c-88e0-0601f1ff9c9b" url="https://x.com/rolandgarros/status/2061029239323803786" social-type="twitter" /][p]Swiatek will need ‌to dust herself off quickly ahead of the grass-court season as she ​bids to defend her Wimbledon title when the tournament begins on ‌June 29th.[/p][p][b]"I haven't thought about grass at all," Swiatek said.[/b][/p][p][b]"Yeah it was a great year last year, but also, my previous results weren't good. They were good, but depending on how you look at it.[/b][/p][p][b]"I'm going to probably take it easy and try to ⁠be patient and be humble. I ⁠don't know how it's going ‌to be. I'm not a wizard."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/kostyuk-m-8CZqQdSa/swiatek-i-jNyZsXZe/?mid=vBdPktcE"]Check out the game summary with Flashscore.[/a][/p]