Swiatek Criticised by Evert, Henman and Keothavong After Shock French Open Exit to Kostyuk

Iga Swiatek was eliminated from the French Open in the fourth round on Sunday, losing 5-7, 1-6 to world No. 15 Marta Kostyuk — a result that prompted swift and pointed analysis from a panel of tennis experts on TNT Sport and Eurosport.

The world No. 3 was bidding to secure her fifth Roland Garros crown and was competing on her 25th birthday, but Kostyuk — the only woman yet to drop a match on clay this season — produced a dominant display to advance through to the quarterfinals. The Ukrainian’s victory is among the most notable upsets of this year’s Paris major.

Swiatek had been the pre-eminent force on clay courts for much of the early 2020s, but she has not claimed a title on the surface since her 2024 French Open victory. She also recently underwent a change in coaching staff, a transition that pundits noted has had limited visible impact on her game in the short term.

Former world No. 1 Chris Evert acknowledged the difficulty of rebuilding a playing style within weeks of appointing a new coaching team. “For Iga, it’s back to the drawing board. I guess it was a little too early to think her game would change that drastically after having a new coaching team as it’s only been a few weeks,” Evert said. “Back to the drawing board and try to figure out her game style and how she will play. Keep it simple but clean up those errors, how to get maybe a bigger serve, how to feel more comfortable coming to the net.”

Evert also reflected on the wider competitive landscape at the tournament following the exit of several top seeds. “There are some great players left but you can’t take anything for granted. The fact those top seeds lost, the depth is there and these players aren’t intimidated any more,” she added.

British Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong was more direct in her assessment of Swiatek’s second-set performance, questioning the Pole’s competitive response after losing the opener. “The first set, we saw a lot of high-quality exchanges. There was a total collapse from Swiatek in the second set — I didn’t see enough fight. I didn’t see any desire to change anything out there,” Keothavong said. She reserved particular praise for Kostyuk: “Credit to Marta Kostyuk, she’s going from strength to strength, the only woman who has yet to lose a match on clay this season. She’s looking good, moving well, and she looks relaxed as well.”

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman focused his criticism on Swiatek’s error count and tactical inflexibility throughout the match. “The lack of recognition from Swiatek as to what works and what doesn’t… What doesn’t work is unforced errors,” Henman said. “At every level of this sport it’s about not making mistakes. Admittedly, you’ve got to be able to hit the ball pretty hard and go close to the line, but Swiatek made probably 40 unforced errors and around 13 winners — that’s a huge differential.”

Henman also highlighted Swiatek’s failure to alter her tactical approach as the match slipped away. “If you’re giving your opponent a 30-love start in every game, you’re going to be up against it — there never was a change of tactic to say okay, I’m going to stay in this rally, play with shape, ask my opponent to try and hit winners. After that first set, it snowballed so quickly. 7-5 6-1 is a hugely disappointing result for someone who has had so much success here,” he said.

Kostyuk’s run in Paris represents a significant marker in her development on clay, a surface on which she has historically been less dominant. Her continued progress through the draw will have implications for the WTA Rankings, while Swiatek’s early exit — coming on the same day that Coco Gauff also suffered a shock fourth-round loss to Anastasia Potapova — signals a wider shift in the competitive balance at the top of the women’s game heading into the second half of the clay-court season.