Swiatek Rallies Past Kasatkina Into Doha QF

By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Photo credit: Jon Buckle/ROLEX

Down a set to Daria Kasatkina, Iga Swiatek took a bathroom break, changed her racquet and made a rip-roaring return in Doha.

Ripping returns, Swiatek broke serve six times scoring her seventh straight win over Kasatkina with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 conquest today.

After dropping the opening set, Swiatek soared through eight consecutive games winning 12 of the final 14 games to power into the Qatar Total Energies Open quarterfinals.

“For sure it wasn’t easy, but I’m just happy I found a better rhythm,” Swiatek said. “I started following through on my shots because I was backing up a little bit in the first set.

“I just wanted to go with it especially in these conditions with the wind.”

Three-time Doha champion Swiatek raised her tournament record to 18-2 with 15 of those 18 victories coming in straight sets.

World No. 2 Swiatek will face Maria Sakkari for a semifinal spot.

Earlier, Sakkari converted five of six break points beating qualifier Varvara Gracheva 7-6(3), 6-0 in 90 minutes. Sakkari, who lost to Swiatek in the 2022 Doha semifinals, climbs to No. 44 in the WTA Live Rankings.

Overall, Swiatek has won four of seven meetings vs. Sakkari, including a 6-4, 6-0 victory in the 2024 Indian Wells final and a 6-3, 6-2 triumph in Doha last year.

“Overall I think my level improved in 2022 so I could do a bit more, had more variety, and
could push a little bit more,” Swiatek said of facing Sakkari. “But against Maria, it’s always tough. It’s always like every game matters, every point matters.

“So even though, you know, sometimes I lost, sometimes I won, I felt like we were playing both kind of similar level, it was just a matter of bringing this great level in the important moments to win the games and sets.”

Though she’s dominated Kasatkina for years, Swiatek was burned by the new Australian citizen’s down the line drives in the opening set today.

Kasatkina wrong-footed Swiatek with a forehand winner down the line for a second set point.

Surprising the Pole by playing exclusively to her forehand, Kasatkina drew a netted stretched forehand to snatch the 61-minute opening set. It was the first time Kasatkina took a set from Swiatek since 2021.

Leaving the court for an extended bathroom break, Swiatek came out playing much more assertive tennis in the second set.

The tenor of this match completely changed at 1-all in the second set. Swiatek squandered a 40-Love lead then fended off three break points.

In the longest game of the match, Swiatek slid a backhand winner crosscourt and finally held on a Kasatkina return that sailed long for 2-1.

That lengthy struggle sparked a surge that saw Swiatek win eight straight games.

“For sure she used the slower surface here and, yeah, she was going for it more, I would say, comparing to last matches,” Swiatek said of Kasatkina said. “But you never know, you know, if it was her, you know, just doing that from the beginning, or me giving her more chances.

“In tennis there are both people playing, so I would need to, I don’t know, maybe watch and see. But for sure I felt like I could do sometimes more in the first set. Yeah, didn’t really adjust well to the colder conditions and the wind. For sure it’s a lesson for next days.”

The top-seeded Swiatek stormed through 16 of the next 21 points to snatch the second set and force a decider.

Reading the wide second serve, Swiatek slammed a forehand return winner down the line breaking for her eighth straight game and a 3-0 third-set lead.

The creative Kasatkina is a joy to watch construct baseline points. However, the Kasatkina second serves remains the most vulnerable shot in her arsenal. Swiatek knows it and absolutely annihilated the second serve winning 22 of 29 played on Kasatkina’s second delivery.

On her third match point, Swiatek swirled a crosscourt forehand winner closing in two hours, 17 minutes.