Iga Swiatek crushes Pegula to reach First Semifinal of 2026
Iga Swiatek delivered one of her best performances of the season with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula to reach the semifinals of the Italian Open.
The victory gives Swiatek her first semifinal appearance of 2026 and also her first top-10 win of the year.
The former world No. 1 completely controlled the match from the beginning, putting constant pressure on Pegula and barely allowing the American any rhythm. Swiatek has now dropped just seven games across her last three matches in Rome.
After the win, Swiatek said recent work behind the scenes is finally starting to show on the court.
“For sure the stuff we did the last weeks helped a lot,” she said. “I feel much better. A lot of confidence on my shots.”
“I was using that from the beginning of the match today and putting pressure on Jessie. So I’m really happy with the way I played.”
The result also adds another impressive milestone to Swiatek’s clay-court activities. She now owns the second-most wins in a player’s first 50 WTA 1000 clay matches in history, behind only Serena Williams.
With the French Open approaching, Swiatek appears to be finding her best form at exactly the right time.
