'Everything is fine': Swiatek sends calm message before Australian Open 2026
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Everything is fine': Swiatek sends calm message before Australian Open 2026")
'Everything is fine': Swiatek sends calm message before Australian Open 2026 Photograph: (AFP)
Iga Swiatek says everything is fine after back-to-back losses at the United Cup, admitting soreness but staying confident of recovery as she fine-tunes her game ahead of Australian Open 2026.
Iga Swiatek played down any concerns around her form and fitness and maintained that everything was under control despite suffering back-to-back defeats just days before the Australian Open. The world number two faced rare consecutive losses at the United Cup in Sydney, first against Coco Gauff in the semi-final and then against Belinda Bencic in the final, but refused to read too much into the results.
Swiatek looked physically drained and emotionally frustrated during the final, where she lost momentum completely after a strong second set. However, the Polish star remained confident that these setbacks were part of the early-season grind and would not affect her chances at the season’s first Grand Slam. She believes recovery and fine-tuning will put her back on track.
“Everything is fine. I’m just super sore. The first tournament of the year always costs the body differently than during the season. I had a similar experience last year, too. I’ll just get a good recovery and take a couple of days off.” Speaking about the physical and mental demands of team events, she added, “I love them, but they really take a lot of energy from you. I still need to figure out how to balance that in the future.” Swiatek also admitted she was not sharp against Bencic, saying, “I wasn’t feeling so precise physically. My movement and intensity dropped.”
Swiatek lost 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the mixed teams final, a match that summed up her struggles. After dominating the second set, she lost seven consecutive games, including a rare bagel, and finished with 36 unforced errors compared to Bencic’s 10. The frustration was visible as she tossed her racquet and looked close to tears at the end. It was an uncharacteristic sight for a player known for her composure and consistency.
Before the losses to Gauff and Bencic, Swiatek had impressed with comfortable wins over Eva Lys, Suzan Lamens and Maya Joint. That made her sudden dip in form even more surprising. These defeats marked only the second time in recent years that she has lost back-to-back matches, the last instance coming at the WTA Finals in 2025.
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With the Australian Open around the corner, Swiatek knows time is limited. “We’re going to work on improving the elements that didn’t work this week,” she said, according to AFP. “There isn’t much time if I also want to recover, but this is tennis. You have to go with the flow.”
The Australian Open remains the only Grand Slam missing from Swiatek’s career. She has reached the semi-finals twice in Melbourne but is yet to go beyond that stage.
