World No.1 Iga Swiatek summed up her frustration perfectly after her third-round loss to Yulia Putintseva at Wimbledon. The 22-year-old is the dominant force on the Hologic WTA Tour. She has won more than anyone else over the last three seasons. Just four weeks ago, she captured her third consecutive Roland Garros title and fifth Grand Slam overall. 

Wimbledon 2024: Scores | Draws | Order of play

And now, just three matches later, she saw her 21-match win streak -- 19 of which were built on her favored clay -- come to a listless end. After taking the first set over Putintseva, she lost 12 of the next 15 games. 

"For me going from this kind of tennis where I felt like I'm playing the best tennis in my life to another surface where I kind of struggle a little bit more, it's not easy," Swiatek told reporters after the loss.

"All that stuff really combines to me not really having a good time in Wimbledon."

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For the third consecutive year, Wimbledon feels like a penalty Swiatek is forced to accept for her clay-court supremacy. It remains the only Slam at which she has yet to make it past the quarterfinals, which she has done just once.

In 2022, she saw her 37-match win streak end in the third round to Alizé Cornet. Last year, she cut her R&R short to play a pre-Wimbledon tournament and went on to post her best result so far in the quarterfinals.

This year, she did not play a pre-tournament event but she also didn't do much resting. As a result, Swiatek admitted to feeling the mental strain. For a player who won two tournaments during the clay season from match-points down, she struggled to find her fight.

"My tank of really pushing myself to the limits became suddenly, like, empty," Swiatek said. "I was kind of surprised. But I know what I did wrong after Roland Garros. I didn't really rest properly. I'm not going to make this mistake again.

"After such a tough clay court season, I really must have my recovery. Maybe that's also the reason."

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Swiatek was hoping she would be able to transfer her confidence and level to grass after a few matches, and that may have proven true if she could navigate her way through the first week. She plays her best when she's allowed to tap into her intuition and instincts, which only works if she's feeling confident.

But Swiatek never looked in full flow in the first week and Putintseva was able to expose her insecurities on the surface. Swiatek has prided herself in her improved ability on clay and hard courts to adjust tactically throughout a match and to deploy a Plan B or C. 

Grass still requires a different equation for the World No.1. Swiatek's frustrations were evident as Putintseva took control of the match. She just couldn't get out of her own way and find a solution.

"I feel like on grass I need little bit more of that energy to keep being patient and accept some mistakes," Swiatek said. "Like mentally, I didn't really do that well on this tournament. I need to recover better after clay court season, both physically and mentally."
 
"I literally came back to work -- not tennis-wise, but off-court stuff -- and I shouldn't have done that. Maybe next year I'm going to take a vacation and literally just do nothing."

Swiatek isn't one to let a loss linger. In a season that has already seen her secure five Hologic WTA Tour titles, this was just her fifth loss of the year. She is an outstanding 45-5 on the season. 

Swiatek's next event will be the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she will return to Roland Garros in hopes of bringing home gold for Poland. 

"I lost in the third round," Swiatek said. "I felt like I underachieved a little bit. 

"But it's tennis, so you have to move on. I'll have many more chances this year to show my game. I'll just focus on that."