After a Dominant Start Iga Swiatek Admits the Danielle Collins ‘Challenge’ Still Lurking in Rome

It wasn’t exactly a day to remember when Polish ace Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins last clashed on clay, at the Paris Olympics. Their center-court showdown ended in chaos. With tensions flaring mid-match, Collins eventually retired because of injury. Now, nearly a year later, the two are set to rekindle their rivalry, not in Paris this time, but on the sunbaked red clay of Rome. Bearing in mind the demanding Olympic quarterfinal match, Swiatek, the second seed, concedes that facing Collins again poses a considerable challenge, describing it as a significant hurdle.

For Swiatek, the Internazionali d’Italia continues to be a stronghold. With 3 titles from the past 4 editions, the Pole has once again started her Rome campaign dominantly. On Thursday, she powered past Italian wildcard Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 in under an hour. 

Swiatek was near-flawless, winning 28 of 35 service points and not facing a single break point. It marked her 18th consecutive straight-sets win in Rome and her ninth 6-0 set at the tournament. With 33 bagel sets now in ‘WTA 1000’ events, she’s tied Victoria Azarenka for the most ever.

🫸 relentless pressure 🫷@iga_swiatek defeats Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 to continue her quest for a 4th title in Rome!#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/SCoJct2j2j

— wta (@WTA) May 8, 2025

Swiatek is now bracing for a potential matchup with Danielle Collins, depending on the outcome of Collins’ battle with Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Speaking to Tennis Channel following her win over Cocciaretto, the reigning French Open champion emphasized the importance of staying grounded. “Well, honestly, I’ll just focus on myself no matter who I’m going to play against. These two players have totally different game styles, so obviously I need to prepare tactically before, and we’ll see,” she said.

The 23-year-old further elaborated on the challenges posed by both of her potential opponents. “Yeah, against Danielle is always a challenge. And against Elena I think we played once. I’m not sure. So I need to come back to this match. And yeah, but she’s also a nice, you know, clay court player. She’s changing the rhythm a lot. So we’ll see,” she explained, acknowledging the tactical diversity she might face next.

On the other hand, Collins stepped up and defeated Ruse 6-3, 6-3, showcasing her strength and grit on clay. This marked her first clay-court victory since her Charleston win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Her form signals that she’s more than ready for the challenge ahead.

When asked about facing Swiatek, Collins didn’t hold back. “Hopefully I can bring [the intensity] up to a 10,” she said while talking to Tennis Channel. “Iga’s one of the best players in the world and always brings the hard-hitting shots, so I gotta be ready.”

Swiatek leads their H2H 7-1, but their past encounters have been far from routine. Despite the lopsided record, their clashes are often intense for quite some time now.

As she gears up for her next round round match potentially against Collins, Swiatek also made it clear that she’s not consumed by rankings or results. 

Iga Swiatek opens up about her on-court mentality

Iga Swiatek is on a mission to clinch her first title of the 2025 season. Since lifting the Roland Garros trophy last year, she hasn’t reached another final. Earlier this month, she progressed to the SF in Madrid but faced a crushing defeat at the hands of Coco Gauff, winning only two of 14 games – a rare low point for the usually dominant Pole.

However, the former World No. 1 is feeling rejuvenated ahead of Rome and is not letting numbers dictate her path forward.

Speaking after her first win in Rome, Swiatek opened up about her mindset. “The results and rankings. On court, I don’t think about that. It’s a new year, it’s a different story. Everybody is at different stages of their lives, different mindsets, sometimes different challenges. I’m just trying not to compare and just to create a new story rather than repeating what happened before,” she explained.

Swiatek has developed a deep connection with the red clay courts of Rome, as well as Paris. Since 2020, she has played 10 events across the two cities and triumphed in 7. Last year, she claimed her third title in Rome in 4 years and followed that up with a fourth Roland Garros crown in 5, matching Justine Henin’s iconic three-peat from 2005 to 2007.

With a commanding H2H record over Danielle Collins, Swiatek enters their upcoming clash with a psychological edge. But with the American in powerful form, can the Polish star summon her best once again to push deeper into the Italian Open draw? What do you think?

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