It is becoming obvious what Iga Swiatek needs after her heavy defeat to Jasmine Paolini

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Iga Swiatek’s debut campaign at the Wuhan Open ended in a heavy quarterfinal defeat to Jasmine Paolini.

Paolini beat Swiatek in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, snapping her six-match losing streak against the Pole and booking her place in the semifinals of the WTA 1000 event.

While the Italian continues to impress on the Asian swing, her opponent has seen a dip in form recently.

After a short-lived run at the China Open and a disappointing exit in Wuhan, it is now clear what Swiatek needs to do as the season approaches its latter stages.

What Iga Swiatek should do after exiting the Wuhan Open

Since becoming the first Polish player in history to emerge victorious at the Wimbledon championships, the 24-year-old has endured a jam-packed schedule on the WTA Tour.

Swiatek took a break after clinching the crown at the All England Club in July, but has not had many days off following the triumph.

• 30th of July – 3rd of August: Canadian Open
• 9th of August – 18th of August: Cincinnati Open
• 26th of August – 3rd of September: US Open
• 18th of September – 21st of September: Korea Open
• 27th of September – 1st of October: China Open
• 7th of October – 10th of October: Wuhan Open

While she has picked up two titles in that time at the Cincinnati Open and the Korea Open, fatigue looks to be setting in for the six-time major champion.

Swiatek tore through a favourable draw in Seoul and only narrowly claimed the victory in the final against Ekaterina Alexandrova, coming back from a set down to win in three.

Following a walkover in her second match in Beijing, she was then beaten by world number 14 Emma Navarro, who, like Paolini, opened her account in their head-to-head.

With her campaign at the Wuhan Open ending in an uncharacteristically heavy loss to a player she has dominated in the past, now is the time for Swiatek to take some more time away from tennis and put herself in the best possible physical condition for the WTA Finals.

The story of Iga Swiatek’s 2025 season so far

Despite a brief blip from Swiatek, the world number two has recorded another fantastic season on the tour.

At Grand Slams, she has reached three semifinals, advancing to the final four at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, before winning a maiden Wimbledon title.

While her US Open run did not go as she would have hoped, Swiatek still enjoyed success during the North American hard-court swing, adding another WTA 1000 crown to her name in Cincinnati.

With three tour-level titles collected in 2025, she will seek to claim a fourth at the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.