Iga Swiatek cruises past Jessica Pegula and into Italian Open semis

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns the ball to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during their quarter-final match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Iga Swiatek gave another indication she might be back to her brilliant best after destroying Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 at the Foro Italico on Wednesday and breezing into the Italian Open semi-finals.

A three-time champion in Rome, Swiatek took little more than an hour to take care of fifth seed Pegula on centre court, without facing a single break point.

READ: Iga Swiatek routs Naomi Osaka to make Italian Open quarterfinals

It was a show of force on her preferred surface not seen since she last won the French Open two years ago, and gave Swiatek her first semi-final appearance of the season.

“I’ve been playing a bit differently, I would say. More similar to how I played couple years ago, more like a clay court player,” Swiatek told reporters.

“I guess all the things that we practised really clicked during last few matches.”

Swiatek set up a clash with Elina Svitolina, who fought back to beat Elena Rybakina 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the last four on Thursday night.

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The Pole holds a 4-2 winning record over Svitolina, with victories in both of their meetings on clay.

If Swiatek gets past Svitolina again, a potential title clash looms with reigning Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff, who faces veteran Sorana Cirstea on Thursday.

Swiatek hasn’t won a clay-court tournament since claiming the most recent of her four Roland Garros titles, with personal problems a factor in her poor performances.

But since struggling through her second-round win against Caty McNally, Swiatek has dropped just seven games in three matches.

Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, recently took on board Francisco Roig, the former coach of men’s clay-court icon Rafael Nadal, after a difficult opening few months of the season.

The 24-year-old got to the quarter-finals in Stuttgart in early April but was forced to retire from the Madrid Open in the third round due to a viral infection.

But the kind of form she showed on Wednesday suggests she could be favourite for a fourth Foro Italico title and back in the mix for the French Open crown.

Australian Open champion Rybakina looked poised to set up a meeting with Swiatek when she comfortably took the opening set against Svitolina.

But the Ukrainian responded superbly, scrapping into her sixth semi-final of the season.