Danielle Collins stunned World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the third round of the Italian Open in Rome on Saturday, pulling off a 6-1, 7-5 upset to end the Polish star’s strong run on clay.
Swiatek, a three-time Rome champion and winner of 21 of her last 22 matches on clay in the Italian capital, looked out of form. The loss continues her title drought since last year’s French Open. She is expected to drop to No. 4 in the rankings next week, ending a two-year run within the top two.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Swiatek admitted post-match. “For sure, I’m doing something wrong. So I need to just regroup and change some stuff.”
Collins, who had lost seven of her previous eight meetings with Swiatek, played a clean and aggressive match, tallying 32 winners to just 15 unforced errors. In contrast, Swiatek had 15 winners and 22 errors. Collins was also efficient in key moments, converting six of eight break points.
“Obviously, I played against Iga so many times,” said Collins. “When you play that many close matches and also play your best tennis and lose — you learn a lot.”
The win marked Collins’ first victory over a top-10 opponent in over a year and only her third career win over a World No. 2. She next faces No. 16 Elina Svitolina, who overcame Hailey Baptiste in three sets.
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, more upsets unfolded. No. 25 Elise Mertens knocked out No. 3 Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-1, improving her head-to-head to 4-1 over the American. Mertens will play No. 13 Diana Shnaider, who cruised past Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-3.
Peyton Stearns also pulled off a surprise, defeating No. 5 seed Madison Keys 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Stearns will take on Naomi Osaka, who rallied from a set down to beat Marie Bouzkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
In other results, Italy’s No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini defeated No. 27 Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-3, and will next face No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced via walkover.