INDIAN WELLS, United States, 14 March 2025 (BSS/AFP) – Defending champion Iga Swiatek secured a convincing 6-3, 6-3 victory over Zheng Qinwen on Thursday, avenging her Olympics semi-final defeat to the Paris Games gold medallist and booking her place in the last four at Indian Wells.
The world number two from Poland will now have another chance to make amends for a past upset when she faces 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals. Andreeva stunned Swiatek in the Dubai quarter-finals last month before going on to become the youngest-ever WTA 1000 champion.
Swiatek produced yet another commanding performance as she continues her bid to become the first woman to claim three Indian Wells titles. Having first won the tournament in 2022, she is also aiming to join the legendary Martina Navratilova as one of the few women to lift the trophy in consecutive years.
Although Swiatek had breezed through her previous three matches, dropping just two games in each, Zheng proved a more formidable opponent, breaking the Polish star’s serve twice. However, Swiatek remained composed, closing out the match with a dominant break at love following a brief rain delay late in the second set.
“It was a strange match with all the breaks and interruptions, but I wanted to stay composed and focused, and I’m happy I managed to do that,” Swiatek said.
The four-time French Open champion converted all five of her break opportunities, with Zheng twice surrendering her serve despite leading 40-0 in games. Though Zheng managed late breaks in each set, neither that nor the brief rain delay was enough to halt Swiatek’s momentum.
“At the end, it got really windy, which made things even trickier,” Swiatek added. “When conditions change mid-match, you have to adjust quickly, and it’s not easy. But I kept pushing until the end.”
Swiatek acknowledged that avenging her Olympic semi-final loss to Zheng was particularly satisfying, given that the defeat came on Philippe Chatrier, the court where she has won four Roland Garros titles.
“It’s never nice to lose to anyone, so of course, you want a little bit of revenge, but it’s nothing personal,” she remarked.
She will now have a chance to settle another score against Andreeva, who secured her semi-final spot with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina.
Andreeva: A Rising Star
Andreeva produced an impressive display, hitting 23 winners and breaking Svitolina’s serve to take a 6-5 lead in the opening set. Despite Svitolina rallying from a 1-3 deficit to level the second set, Andreeva regained control, winning the final three games to seal victory.
“I really like the way I’m playing right now,” Andreeva said. However, she downplayed her previous win over Swiatek, insisting that their upcoming clash would be entirely different.
“Tomorrow is a new day, a new match, new conditions, new country. Everything is different,” she added.
Other Semi-Final Contenders
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Madison Keys stormed into the semi-finals with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over former world number four Belinda Bencic. Keys, ranked a career-high fifth in the world after denying Aryna Sabalenka a third consecutive Australian Open title, wrapped up her win in just 64 minutes, firing 30 winners in the process.
She could potentially face Sabalenka once again in the semi-finals, provided the Belarusian world number one overcomes 25th-ranked Russian Liudmila Samsonova in the last quarter-final match.
Road to the Final
With Swiatek aiming for another milestone victory and Andreeva continuing her meteoric rise, their semi-final clash promises to be an electrifying battle between experience and youthful exuberance. Meanwhile, Keys’ blistering form makes her a strong contender, particularly if she gets another shot at Sabalenka.
The 2025 Indian Wells tournament is shaping up to be a thrilling contest, with the world’s best players vying for one of the most prestigious titles in women’s tennis.
