Iga Swiatek is still chasing her first trophy of 2026 and will be looking to make progress at the Italian Open, where she’s seeded fourth.
Swiatek brings a 14-8 record into the WTA 1000 event in Rome, after exiting early in the third round of the Madrid Open.
She retired from that match against Ann Li due to illness, something she’ll be hoping is behind her as she prepares for the next challenge.
And with Roland Garros approaching, former pro Rennae Stubbs thinks there are bigger concerns on the horizon for world number three Swiatek.
It’s been a quiet start to the year for Iga Swiatek. She hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals at any event so far and has missed several tournaments because of injury and illness.
Even during last season, although she finished as world number two with three titles, none came from Grand Slams or even WTA 1000 events. This year’s slow start only adds to those growing concerns.
Rennae Stubbs thinks Iga Swiatek still has things to prove before Roland Garros
Stubbs shared her thoughts on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, saying: “I mean listen, Iga has got some questions to answer. That’s for sure. She loves Rome.
“She has won a final there against a very good player by the name of Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 6-0 once upon a time. And I think this is going to be a massive emotional test for her.
“Because if she does not do well at this tournament, you start to think how much can she handle this disappointment of not winning and doing well on her best surface?
“And you know, the coaching changes and the mentality, Daria [Abramowicz] wasn’t in Madrid, how’s she going to react if Daria is in Rome, and then people are going to wonder about this and about that and how the new coaching is working out.
“And maybe it’s not the coach, maybe it’s Iga. I feel in some ways this week is going to be incredibly tough for her, because if she does not win the tournament, or at least make the finals and play well, I think she’s going to really be stressed going into the French Open.
“Look, we know what she did at Wimbledon. She knows she’s capable of doing that now, but this is only going to get harder, because she’s not sort of the player that goes ‘meh’.
“She’s not like an [Elena] Rybakina who can have two or three bad weeks and just come back and just blow everybody out of the court.
“So I think there are a lot of question marks when it comes to Iga. Certainly with Coco [Gauff], [Aryna] Sabelenka hasn’t proven herself on the clay yet.
“So there are a lot of questions to be answered going into the French Open, the second Slam of the year. And I think the biggest question is how is Iga going to do going into the French Open? It’s a big ask.”
Stubbs backs Rybakina for world No.1 by the end of the year
Iga Swiatek hasn’t started the season as well as she’d have liked, but her track record at Roland Garros speaks for itself.
Four of her six Grand Slam titles have come on the Paris clay, and she knows what it takes to win there.
This season, though, it’s Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina setting the pace. Sabalenka sits at world number one, with Rybakina just behind her at number two.
Stubbs believes that could change soon. Asked whether she thinks Rybakina can finish 2026 as world number one, Stubbs said: “I certainly think that Wimbledon will be the tell,” she replied. “I think if she wins Wimbledon, which she’s my favorite to win Wimbledon, I think she can end the year number one.
“And a lot of times it’s because she didn’t quite have the same points to defend as Sabalenka does throughout the rest of the year, right?
“Sabalenka won the US Open, so that’s a big thing, that’s 2,000 points right there if Sabalenka doesn’t win the US Open again.
“Sabalenka can make up the points at Wimbledon, but so can Rybakina. So do I think she can end the year number one? Absolutely. No doubt about it.”
Sabalenka’s stay at No.1 will extend through Rome – taking her total to 81 straight weeks – but once Roland Garros rolls around after Rome finishes up in late May, things could change quickly from there.
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