WATCH: Iga Swiatek smashes racquet in frustration after one-sided loss in Qatar

Jelena Ostapenko crushed Iga Swiatek to confirm a spot in the finals of the 2025 Qatar Open.

A massive upset struck the WTA Qatar Open 2025 during the semi-final encounter between defending champion Iga Swiatek and Jelena Ostapenko. Entering the competition as the top contender, Swiatek was the only top-10 seed from the final four.

On the back of impressive victories over Maria Sakkari, Linda Noskova and Elena Rybakina, the world number two was left stunned in her semi-final round against familiar nemesis Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian boasts a stunning 100%-win record over Swiatek, having won each of the duo’s five contests so far.

Iga Swiatek has been unstoppable in Qatar for the last three years. But Ostapenko delivered a remarkable performance to stun the five-time Grand Slam winner. Swiatek simply had no answers to the Latvian’s onslaught as she could claim only four games during her straight sets defeat.

The last time Swiatek won fewer games in a match was back in 2019, against Ostapenko yet again, in Birmingham.

The otherwise calm and composed Polish ace lost her cool on the court. Having conceded a 3-0 lead to her opponent in the second set, the Pole smashed her racquet in frustration. Ostapenko, on the other hand, seemed to find the funny side of the situation.

Jelena Ostapenko's reaction to Iga Swiatek throwing her racquet in Doha 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/EvIjoEtKBx

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 14, 2025

The former world number four remains the only player to have defeated Swiatek five times in head-to-head matchups. She has consistently posed a challenge for the Pole, and the trend of their one-sided encounters continues.

The 2025 Qatar Open saw Swiatek suffer her second consecutive semi-final defeat. On both occasions, she entered as the favourite but was ultimately upset. The 23-year-old now faces the challenge of regrouping, as rebounding from this heartbreaking loss—at a venue where she has enjoyed immense success will require immense resilience.

Also Read: Qatar Open 2025: All you need to know about prize money and points on offer

Ostapenko is now slated to compete in her second Qatar Open singles final, after missing out on the title in 2016. The gap of 6,321 days between her two finals marks the longest interval between WTA-1000 finals for any player in history.

The Latvian will now take on the winner of the other semi-final clash between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova, on February 14.

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