Iga Swiatek Suffers Beautiful US Open Exit In opposition to Qinwen Zheng

Iga Swiatek suffered a surprising fourth-round exit on the 2026 US Open on Monday, blowing a 5-0 lead earlier than China’s Qinwen Zheng rallied for a 7-5, 6-3 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Iga Swiatek Blows 5-0 Lead

The loss ended Swiatek’s run in New York and despatched Zheng into the quarterfinals. The consequence was particularly painful for Swiatek, who received the US Open in 2022 and had began Monday’s match in sturdy kind.

According to the NY Post, Swiatek raced by the opening video games and appeared set to take management. She led 5-0 and even had set factors at 5-1 and 5-3. Zheng, nevertheless, refused to offer in.

The Chinese star received seven straight video games to show the set round. It was one other large comeback for Zheng, who had additionally fought again from 5-0 down within the third set towards Madison Keys within the earlier spherical.

Swiatek stated the collapse was not primarily about stress or her mindset. Instead, she felt her degree dropped whereas Zheng turned stronger.

“I wouldn’t say it had anything to do with mentality,” Swiatek stated. “It was more that I started making mistakes from easy balls and Qinwen stopped doing mistakes. She played the balls better.”

Zheng carried that momentum into the second set. Swiatek briefly moved forward 2-1 and later earned two break factors at 3-3, however Zheng saved each probabilities. Zheng then broke Swiatek within the subsequent recreation and took management for good.

Swiatek additionally known as for a medical timeout through the second set. She later stated her quad was “quite tired,” however added that it didn’t have an effect on her efficiency.

Qinwen Zheng Reaches US Open Quarterfinals

For Zheng, the win was a significant step after a troublesome interval. She reached the Australian Open remaining and climbed into the highest 5 in 2024 earlier than accidents damage her progress in 2025 and left her struggling this season.

“I know people had a lot of doubt about me and it’s just really hard for me,” Zheng stated. “I just need to be positive every single day.”

The victory places Zheng into the US Open quarterfinals, the place she’s going to face Elena Rybakina. Rybakina superior earlier Monday by beating two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4.

Swiatek, in the meantime, leaves New York after one other disappointing US Open exhibiting. Her defeat ended a 10-match hard-court profitable streak and stopped her from reaching the quarterfinals.

According to FirstSportz, regardless of the dramatic collapse, Swiatek made clear she doesn’t need to spend an excessive amount of time trying again.

“It’s just one match,” she stated, including that she’s going to attempt to “play the same way as usual.”