Awkward exchange notwithstanding, Swiatek had indeed been on a busy winning streak for most of the summer, collecting her sixth Grand Slam victory at the All England Club and arriving to Flushing Meadows fresh off a WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open.
There was little time to settle in for the No. 2 seed, who immediately transitioned into mixed doubles alongside Casper Ruud, finishing runner-up in the revamped edition of the event before her singles campaign even began.
Once it did, Swiatek dropped just one set en route to a second straight quarterfinal, but was ultimately overwhelmed by Anisimova’s big hitting—particularly off the return.
“I kind of maybe didn’t serve the best throughout the whole tournament,” Swiatek said of her serve, “but I think because she returned so well that you could see, you know, the bigger difference. On the other hand, I wasn’t practicing it in between matches anyway, so I kind of have to let it go and just focus on next one.”
Unable to overtake Aryna Sabalenka atop the WTA rankings after this tournament, Swiatek will still have opportunities to gain points on the current world No. 1 this fall in Asia and the WTA Finals.
