Holder Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Italian Open to American Danielle Collins after a 6-1, 7-5 third-round loss on Saturday in a major upset that will cost the Pole the world number two ranking as the defence of her French Open title looms.
Swiatek held a commanding 7-1 head-to-head record against Collins before the contest and yet another early defeat does not bode well for the 23-year-old, who has not won a tournament since her fourth triumph at Roland Garros last year.
"I played against Iga so many times ... When you play that many close matches and get this close and also play some of your best tennis and lose, I think you learn a lot," Collins, 31, said. "I feel like I applied that today, to the match."
Five-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek went 5-0 down in the opening set before getting on the board to avoid a bagel.
Collins was lethal from the baseline, mixing it up with forehand and backhand service return winners as she picked apart Swiatek's serve in an opening set that was one-way traffic.
The second was level at 4-4 as Swiatek showed flashes of brilliance, but 31-year-old 2022 Australian Open runner-up Collins showed no mercy, sealing victory in one hour and 44 minutes when a return went wide.
Collins fired 32 winners and converted six of eight break points while Swiatek, who had won the tournament three times in the last four years, made 22 unforced errors.
Swiatek has lost nine matches this year - as many as in all of 2024 - while she has not reached a claycourt final ahead of her bid to retain the French Open title later this month.