Iga Swiatek recovered from a one-sided opening set to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 and claim the WTA 500 title in Seoul. The win was the 25th tour-level title of Swiatek’s career and makes her the first player born in the 2000s, woman or man, to reach that mark.

Alexandrova, the No. 2 seed, set the tone early, taking the first set in 31 minutes while hitting eight winners to three unforced errors. Swiatek, the top seed, was under constant pressure after that and twice had to serve to stay in the match in the second set at 4-5 and 5-6, facing two points from defeat in both games. She escaped both situations and prevailed in the second-set tie-break.

In the third set Alexandrova jumped out to a 3-1 lead and had two break points at 4-all that would have given her a chance to serve for the title. Swiatek withstood those threats, secured a decisive break in the final game and ended the match when she ripped one last crosscourt forehand winner on match point.

The Seoul title continues an impressive run for Swiatek in 2025. She has won three of the last five events she entered: Wimbledon, Cincinnati and Seoul. The victory was also her 57th of the year, moving her record to 57-13 and breaking a tie with Aryna Sabalenka for the most wins on the women’s tour this season; Sabalenka is 56-10.

Among players born in the 2000s, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sebastian Baez, both born in 2000, are the next closest with seven tour-level titles each. Swiatek’s comeback in Seoul underlined her resilience and the consistency that has defined her season.

© 2025 Robert Prange

Iga Swiatek recovered from a lopsided opening set to claim her 25th WTA title, edging Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in the Seoul final. The victory makes Swiatek the first player born in the 2000s, man or woman, to reach 25 tour-level titles.

Alexandrova, the No. 2 seed, dominated the first set, finishing it in 31 minutes and connecting almost three times as many winners as unforced errors, eight to three. Swiatek, the top seed, faced repeated threats thereafter, twice having to serve to stay in the match in the second set at 4-5 and 5-6, and she was two points from defeat in both games.

Swiatek held on, taking the second set in a tie-break, then survived another mid-match surge from Alexandrova, who jumped to a 3-1 lead in the third and even held two break points at 4-all that would have given her a chance to serve for the title. Swiatek responded in the decisive moments, breaking in the final game and finishing the match with a crosscourt forehand winner on match point.

The Seoul triumph is a milestone in a dominant season. Swiatek, 24, has now won three of the last five tournaments she entered—Wimbledon, Cincinnati and Seoul—and the victory was her 57th of the year, moving her to 57-13 in 2025 and breaking a tie with Aryna Sabalenka for the most wins on the women’s tour this season. Sabalenka is 56-10.

In broader context, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sebastian Baez, both born in 2000, sit well behind Swiatek in career tour-level titles with seven apiece. Swiatek’s comeback in Seoul underlined both her resilience in pressure moments and her ongoing consistency across the season.

© 2025 Robert Prange

Iga Swiatek’s 2025 campaign gathers pace after a season that mixed quieter moments with major success. The world No 2 added a first Wimbledon crown to her resume and followed that with a Cincinnati Open victory, taking her to six Grand Slam titles and her 11th WTA 1000-level trophy. Her Grand Slam run ended at the US Open with a quarter-final defeat, but there is still significant tennis to play and the opportunity to press for the world No 1 ranking.

Her provisional schedule points to an immediate return on the WTA’s Asian swing. Swiatek is due to begin at the WTA 500 Korea Open in Seoul next week. That will be her debut at this WTA 500 event after withdrawing from the 2024 tournament while under provisional suspension following a failed drug test in August 2024. She is slated to be the top seed in Seoul, where Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu are also expected to compete.

After Korea, Swiatek is set for one of the season’s remaining WTA 1000 tournaments in Beijing. She lifted the China Open title in 2023, a run highlighted by dropping only one set, to Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals, before defeating Liudmila Samsonova in the final. Her provisional suspension prevented her from defending that title in 2024, so the 2025 appearance will be only her second at the event and she will aim to preserve her prior success there.

October promises a first at the Wuhan Open. Swiatek was previously too low-ranked to play before the tournament’s 2020-23 break, and the 2024 edition returned during her provisional ban, so 2025 will be her Wuhan debut. Aryna Sabalenka has won the title in the last three stages of the tournament, a streak Swiatek and others will look to challenge.

Regardless of the Asian swing results, Swiatek’s place at the WTA Finals is secure; she sits second in the race to Riyadh and is on track for a fourth consecutive appearance after debuting at the Year-End Championships in Guadalajara in 2021 and winning the title in Cancun in 2023. At last year’s Finals she exited in the group stage after wins over Barbora Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina and a defeat to Coco Gauff.