© Getty Images Sport – Christopher Pike
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has suffered her first defeat during this year’s Middle East swing after being upset by world No. 40 Anna Kalinskaya in Dubai.
Swiatek, the top-seeded player in Dubai and coming off a WTA 1000 win in Doha, saw her seven-match winning streak come to an end on Friday after Kalinskaya handed her a shock 6-4 6-4 defeat in the Dubai semifinal.
After completing a Doha three-peat without a dropped set last week, Swiatek also started her Dubai run with three consecutive straight-set wins. Considering her current form, the general expectation was that Swiatek would clinch another routine win over Kalinskaya and get one win away from winning her first Dubai title.
But Swiatek – who got upset by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2023 Dubai final – once again made a deep Dubai run that ended with a surprise defeat.
How Swiatek lost to Kalinskaya?
Early in the first set, Swiatek saved two break points in the first game but also failed to convert her first break point in the following game. After a couple of missed break points early on, Swiatek earned the first break of the match in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead.
At that moment, it seemed like Swiatek…
