Iga Swiatek makes it 14 Grand Slam Quarterfinals at Melbourne

 No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek reached her 14th career Grand Slam quarterfinal and third at the Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-3 defeat of qualifier Maddison Inglis in 73 minutes.

There are few new situations for six-time major champion Swiatek on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz at this stage of her career, but this matchup did mark one first for Swiatek. She had never previously faced an Australian opponent at the Australian Open.

Swiatek was unfazed, allowing neither No. 168-ranked Inglis nor the Rod Laver Arena crowd to get a foothold in the match. The first "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" chants rang out as Inglis, trailing 3-0 in the first set, reached her first game point of the day. They didn't last long. Swiatek slammed that door shut by swatting away a smash and minutes later had captured the double break en route to a whitewash set.

Inglis raised her hands to the sky when she finally got on the board at the start of the second set, capturing the Swiatek serve as the former World No. 1 mishit a backhand. But with a point to lead 2-0, she sent a forehand wide, and Swiatek wasted no time in regaining her intensity in another run of four straight games.

Though Inglis battled hard, her increased level frequently provided the canvas for Swiatek to show off more of her repertoire: a superb drop shot-pass combination at 2-1, a brilliant pickup in the subsequent game and several sharp volleys.

Swiatek's one-two punch to convert her first match point set up a quarterfinal clash against No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina. Swiatek leads their head-to-head 6-5 (including 4-2 on outdoor hard courts), but Rybakina won their only previous Australian Open meeting 6-4, 6-4 in the 2023 fourth round.

Not that those numbers are on Swiatek's mind.

"I wouldn't say head-to-head matters," she said. "Because even when one of us was winning, it was always, I don't know, a tight match or she beat me easy. Doesn't matter. Doesn't make sense to overanalyze who won the last ones or how it has been looking.

"Every match is a different story. Like on every match she's been a tough opponent, and her tennis for sure is great. I need to be 100% ready and go for it and use my experience and also the knowledge from previous matches, and that's it."

Here are the key numbers from Swiatek's win:

33: The first set was the 33rd 6-0 set Swiatek has won in a Grand Slam main draw. It was her sixth at the Australian Open, following her defeats of Harriet Dart


(6-3, 6-0 in the 2022 first round), Cristina Bucsa


(6-0, 6-1 in the 2023 third round), Rebecca Sramkova


(6-0, 6-2 in the 2025 second round), Emma Raducanu


(6-1, 6-0 in the 2025 third round) and Eva Lys


(6-0, 6-1 in the 2025 fourth round).


6: Swiatek has reached her sixth consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. At 24 years old, she is the youngest player to accomplish this since Serena Williams between Roland Garros 2002 and Wimbledon 2003. The last time Swiatek lost before the last eight of a major was at Wimbledon 2024, to Yulia Putintseva in the third round.

24: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has also reached six consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals (she is on an overall streak of 13, not counting her absence from Wimbledon 2024). It's 24 years since two players both reached six major quarterfinals in a row -- the last time was between Wimbledon 2001 and the US Open 2002, when Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati put together simultaneous streaks.

6: Swiatek's win completes the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinal lineup. It includes all Top 6 seeds in the draw -- No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Swiatek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 5 Rybakina and No. 6 Jessica Pegula. 

The last time all Top 6 seeds made the last eight of a major was at the 1998 US Open -- No. 1 Martina Hingis, No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, No. 3 Jana Novotna, No. 4 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, No. 5 Venus Williams and No. 6 Monica Seles.

The last time this occurred at the Australian Open was in 1991 -- No. 1 Stefanie Graf, No. 2 Seles, No. 3 Mary Joe Fernandez, No. 4 Gabriela Sabatini, No. 5 Katerina Maleeva and No. 6 Sánchez Vicario.

The Top 6 ATP seeds have also all reached the quarterfinals this week -- No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 2 Jannik Sinner, No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 6 Alex De Minaur. It is the first time in the Open Era that the Top 6 WTA and ATP seeds have all made the last eight of one major.

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Well we've reached the point where the challenge ramps up to a 100. Iga vs Rybakina will be the first real test of where Iga's level is. 

In the past I would have been really anxious with this match up, but Iga has really turned around the H2H in the last year and has figured out what works with Rybakina.  

So I really think if she can find her first serve we could be in for a highly competitive match.

It won't be easy but certainly doesn't feel impossible the way it used to.

I'm still not happy with Iga losing concentration in 2nd sets (granted this one could have just been the 6/0 score line). 

But it's going to be tough to win against the big hitters that are left if she can't keep her level all the way through. 

So I hope she can find a way to lock in and remind everyone again exactly why she's a 6 time Grand Slam Champion.

Jazda Iga, keep that belief and fight.

Iga Swiatek back in week 2 of Aussie Open

 

No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek came through a topsy-turvy three-setter against No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the Australian Open third round, advancing 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 in 1 hour and 44 minutes.

Swiatek advanced to the second week of a major for the 21st time in 28 main draws, and for the sixth time in eight Australian Open appearances. She'll next face the last home hope -- and the last qualifier -- standing, Maddison Inglis. The World No. 168, who had to save two match points in her first qualifying round against Leyre Romero Gormaz, advanced via walkover after Naomi Osakawithdrew due to a left abdominal injury.

It will be the first time that Swiatek has played a Australian player at the Australian Open. She has faced Inglis on her home turf before, though, winning 6-1, 6-2 in the 2021 Adelaide second round en route to her first hard-court title.

Swings and roundabouts: Momentum swung wildly between Swiatek and Kalinskaya throughout the contest -- and in each set, the player who seized it early on ran away with it. Swiatek was near-flawless on serve in the first set, winning 17 out of 20 points behind her delivery; by contrast, Kalinskaya dropped her opening service game from game point up with a slew of backhand errors, setting the tone for a blink-and-miss-it 24-minute set against her.

After receiving treatment on her back during a medical timeout between sets, Kalinskaya began striking the ball with greater freedom and accuracy in the second set. Having found just three winners in the opener, she fired 10 in the second set. The key game was her hold for 4-1: Swiatek had already broken back once, and held three points to do so again, but Kalinskaya saved all three with unreturned serves.

Swiatek, who had contributed several wild unforced errors in the second set, regained her intensity in the third. She did not face a game point as she leapt out to a 5-0 lead, and though Kalinskaya made her work to close it out in a four-deuce final game, Swiatek landed a forehand winner on the line to convert her second match point.

Swiatek unsurprised by Kalinskaya test: Kalinskaya represented a quietly dangerous test for Swiatek. Her flat, aggressive game style had already garnered her one win over Swiatek, in the 2024 Dubai semifinals, and she pushed Swiatek hard in a 7-6(2), 6-4 loss in last year's US Open third round. Moreover, Kalinskaya had played her part in two of the best matches of this year's Australian Open warmups, stretching Jessica Pegula and Victoria Mboko to tight three-setters in Brisbane and Adelaide respectively.

"It's not surprising for me because I know that Anna can play amazing tennis," Swiatek said of the unusual scoreline. "And on the other hand she's risking a lot, so at the same time she might start playing out. I just wanted to be there when I have a chance, when I have a slower ball, to still be proactive and put pressure on her. I didn't feel I was playing worse in the second set, I felt like she just started playing in all the balls that went out in the first."

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On the one hand these one sided 2nd set performances from Iga still quite worry me (I do miss Iga being the dominant front runner after winning the first and just bulldozing the match). 

But on the other hand Iga recovering so well in the 3rd is encouraging. 

For much of last year she lost matches like these in a very one sided fashion. So there's some positives here  for sure. 

I'm actually a bit disappointed we don't get Iga vs Naomi I think it would have been a good test for Iga to pass, but I'm certainly not completely discounting her Australian opponent. 

If Iga does get through to the quarters I do worry about Tuesday because it'll be played under the roof due to the expected extreme heat that day. And if she ends up having to play Rybakina there that's never ideal. 

But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. 

Jazda Iga, stay strong, believe and keep going.

Iga Swiatek into 3rd round at Melbourne

Iga Swiatek arrived on court Thursday night in Melbourne with several streaks on the line. Chief among them: extend her perfect record against Marie Bouzkova to 3-0, ideally in straight sets once again.

That second part looked shaky when she fell behind by a break in the second set, but the No. 2 seed never truly appeared in danger of losing the match, closing out a 6-2, 6-3 win in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

“It felt great playing today,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “I felt more free than in my first round, so I really wanted to go for it. And for sure, the conditions also weren’t easy. I don’t know if you guys feel that, but on the court it’s super windy.

“So I needed to adjust for that, and I’m really happy with the performance for sure.”

The victory sent her into the Australian Open third round for the seventh straight year. She has now reached the third round at 24 consecutive Grand Slam events; her last second-round exit came at the 2019 US Open, where she lost to Anastasija Sevastova

With the result, Swiatek became the first WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz player in the Open Era to reach the Round of 32 at the first 24 women’s singles Grand Slam events of a single decade.

On the approach: At one point early in the second set, Swiatek was a perfect 9-for-9 winning points when approaching the net, a clear weapon for the World No. 2, who repeatedly used forward movement to take control of rallies.

She incorporated this tactic immediately, creeping toward the net before firing a backhand winner by Bouzkova to hold for 1-0. She followed the same blueprint to guide her to a 4-1 hold, affording her a lead she would only build on before claiming the first set in 38 minutes.

Fittingly, she ended the match with one final approach, this time finishing it with a forehand winner to seal the win.

Tour’s best frontrunner: That forehand was one of 31 winners Swiatek hit (compared to just three from Bouzkova), many coming after she built comfortable leads in each set. There’s a saying that fits her game well: give an inch, take a mile. Because, if an opponent offers even a sliver of space, Swiatek tends to take far more.

Exhibit A: the second set. Bouzkova broke for a 2-1 lead and consolidated for 3-1 but left the door open just a crack. Swiatek burst through, converting her third break point of the game to level at 3-3.

In all, she reeled off five straight games to finish the match, taking the lead and never looking back.

Give an inch, take a mile.

What’s next: Swiatek will face No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the third round.

She leads their head-to-head 2-1, losing in Dubai last season, but winning their two most recent meetings in Cincinnati and at the US Open in straight sets.

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Iga Swiatek survives an early challange in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round of the Australian Open on Sunday, defeating Yuan Yue 7-6(5), 6-3 after being pushed to a first-set tiebreak.

Swiatek had been far more comfortable in their previous meeting, dropping only three games, but Yuan raised her level this time by extending rallies and holding serve, pushing the first set to a tiebreak before Swiatek closed out the match in two hours.

Swiatek’s composure showed late in the opening set. Yuan served for the set at 5-4 and stayed level through the tiebreak, but Swiatek began to take control of the exchanges, finishing the night with 24 winners. Several landed so close to the lines that Yuan hesitated, a reflection of Swiatek’s precision under pressure.

"There were some moments where I felt great, but the start of the match wasn't that perfect," Swiatek said in press afterward. "I'm happy that I worked through this and could, yeah, finish in two sets as you said. Also during tiebreak play more aggressively and more precise."

Swiatek carried that momentum into the second set, winning the first three games. She won 72% of points on her first serve and took advantage of Yuan’s second serve, capturing 21 of 34 points (62%).

At 4-3 in the second set, Swiatek took the final two games with one more break -- she won nearly half (40-of-82) of receiving points, compared to Yuan's 36% -- and earned her 25th straight Grand Slam first-round win on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Yuan, who won three qualifying matches to enter the first round, jumped out to an early lead with a break of Swiatek and a hold in the first set. She often matched Swiatek's power in their rallies, and Swiatek racked up 21 unforced errors to Yuan's 13 in the first set. Compared to their first meeting where Yuan had just one break point opportunity, she converted 3-of-7.

Though Swiatek tied the first set at 3-3, Yuan's next two games followed a similar pattern with a break and hold, setting herself up with two games to close the first set. Swiatek bounced back winning three of the next four games to force the tiebreak, which Yuan managed to win five points.

In the second set, after falling 3-0 and taking a medical timeout for a lower back issue, Yuan won three of the next four, including a 16-point, 10-minute game to cut the deficit to 4-3.

"I think she played well," Swiatek said of her opponent. "She used the opportunities that I gave her a bit. Yeah, was kind of playing pretty strong from the forehand side. She was for sure going for her shots, playing fast. Yeah, she played good."

In the first set tiebreak, Yuan and Swiatek alternated points up until Swiatek led 5-4. During the the 10th point of the tiebreak, Yuan kept traded strong shots back-and-forth, but an incidental net cord forced Swiatek to come to the net.

The World No. 2 had several backhand winners, but none more momentous than this one. Despite the net cord, Swiatek's quick adjustment allowed her to smash home a backhand winner -- she had 15 winners in the first alone -- and create a double set point opportunity. Though Yuan saved one with an ace, another Swiatek backhand winner ended the set.

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This turned out to be more of a challenge then many expected, but maybe these kinds of matches will allow Iga to find her form and play her way into the 2nd week and the tournament overall. 

I do love that Iga used her supreme athleticism to her advantage and extended points instead just trying to overpower and bash the ball outside the lines (which she so often does when in panic mode). 

But  she really kept it together and found a way though as great champions so often do. 

Made me really proud. 

I hope she remembers this as the challenges get harder because they definitely will. 

Jazda!

 

Team Poland United Cup Champions at last!

 

SYDNEY, Australia -- Poland finally broke through at the United Cup on Sunday evening, capturing its first championship after falling in the 2024 and 2025 finals with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland at Ken Rosewall Arena.

After Iga Swiatek’s loss to Belinda Bencic in the opening match of the tie, Hubert Hurkacz leveled the final before Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski clinched the title in mixed doubles. It marked the duo’s third straight deciding victory of the week and denied Switzerland in its first appearance in the United Cup final.

Kawa and Zielinski finished a perfect 5-0 in mixed doubles during the tournament, closing the championship tie with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the previously unbeaten pairing of Bencic and Jakub Paul. In the opening set, Kawa delivered a pivotal volley at the net on set point at 5-4 during a deciding point that shifted the match in Poland’s favor.

"I think it always pays off when you're brave on the important points, especially in doubles," Kawa said to reporters. "It was like instinct decision. I just went for it. Yeah, I'm really happy that we sealed this set and we were able to get this match won."

The mixed-doubles loss was Bencic’s only defeat of the tournament. She finished with a 9-1 overall record and earned the event’s most valuable player award.

Bencic went 5-0 in singles, highlighted by Top 10 victories over No. 2 Iga Swiatek
 and No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, and collected 500 ranking points for her performance.

Bencic won 12 of the final 15 games against Swiatek, earning her second career victory over the World No. 2 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. The first set seemed the tie’s first match was going to belong to Swiatek, but the pendulum quickly shifted the momentum into the World No. 11's favor.

“It’s always a challenge playing against her and every time I play her, I look for ways to improve and make her life a bit more difficult,” said Bencic, who defeated Swiatek for the first time in over four years. “I think the difference today was I played very freely, I was really enjoying myself out on the court and I was just really going for it.”

Swiatek started strong early, holding serve in the opening game with four straight points followed by the match’s first break and another hold. With Swiatek up 3-0, Bencic did settle into the match, winning two consecutive games of her own, cutting the deficit to 3-2 after a backhand winner on the third break point. The six-time Grand Slam champion eventually closed out the set, winning three of the next four games.

The second set, however, would be a Bencic domination with to force a deciding third set. Bencic started the second set winning nine consecutive points, and in the third game, she saved two break points. The following game, she’d get the crucial break on the third chance and finished the set in 33 minutes.

“To be honest, I felt I was in the match from the very first point,” Bencic said. “I thought I was going great and I was 0-3 down. I was ‘OK, what do I have to do.’ I think I just tried to keep the level and just wait for some chances.”

After three consecutive games with service holds to begin the third, Bencic notched the turning point. With a powerful forehand to set up break point, she took advantage of the crucial point, returning Swiatek’s serve with a convincing backhand winner. Following a service hold, Bencic put herself within two games of the win, leading 4-1, and capitalized.

Swiatek fought to the last point, holding two games of serve and saving two match points with a pair of aces, but Bencic's backhand winner on the third match point sealed the win.

Under pressure with the tie on the line, Hurkacz struck 18 aces against Stan Wawrinka and saved eight of the nine break points he faced. Although Wawrinka earned a crucial break on his way to winning the second set, the three-time Grand Slam champion converted just two of 23 break-point chances across his five singles matches at the event.

Hurkacz went 4-1 in singles during the tournament, capping a successful return from a seven-month injury layoff following knee surgery.

The 28-year-old former World No. 6 also erased lingering United Cup disappointment. In the 2024 final, he held two championship points before losing to Alexander Zverev, and last year he fell to Taylor Fritz in a third-set tiebreak. This time, Hurkacz delivered the point Poland needed to set up the championship-winning mixed-doubles match.

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There's a lot of speculation regarding Iga's conditioning and form happening  after the 2 loses to Coco and Bencic at the United Cup. 

Personally I think her form will be fine (and she's already mentioned she's fine physically other than general soreness).  

The only thing that concerns me is the way she continues to revert to bashing the ball and hitting out when she's feeling stressed instead of relying on her athleticism and extending rallies the way she did at Wimbledon.

She's fine when she's the one controlling the match, but as soon as it slips she panics and doesn't look for solutions, hopefully with more matches as the season goes on that will happen less.

This will be the first time she's going into a Grand Slam with more losses than wins, so definitely a very different situation for her to be in compared to the last 4 years. 

Confidence is definitely a big thing for any player before a Slam, and although I had really high hopes for Iga this Aussie Open I may have to lower my expectations a little. 

A lot will no doubt depend on the draw as well. 

I see two sides to Iga not playing the mixed at all this time around. 

On the one hand she'll be a lot more physically rested but on the other she'll also lack practice and confidence at net that playing mixed allows. 

There is something poetic about Team Poland finally winning the United Cup as a team. 

For 2 years Iga carried the teams hopes on her back, practically killing herself for it (playing singles and mixed) with nothing to show for it. 

And the one year she doesn't do that and faulters in singles the team is actually able to pick up the pieces and carry her to the elusive title.

Whatever happens I'm definitely ready for the first Grand Slam of the year to begin.

Jazda!. 

Iga Swiatek and Team Poland avenge last year's United Cup loss to the U.S.A.

SYDNEY, Australia -- The United Cup has its second finalist, and Poland will return to the final for the third consecutive year after it avenged its 2025 final defeat to the United States with a 2-1 victory in Saturday’s semifinal.

Poland, which got wins from Hubert Hurkacz in singles as well as Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski in mixed doubles, will face first-time finalist Switzerland. World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who fell to Coco Gauff 4-6, 2-6, will have a chance to redeem herself against Belinda Bencic, while Hurkacz encounters Stan Wawrinka.

Kawa and Zielinski were the heroes, knocking off the previously unbeaten American duo of Gauff and Christian Harrison. Kawa and Zielinski won their second straight deciding mixed doubles following a win over Australia in the quarterfinals Friday.

In the loss to Poland, Gauff earned her fourth straight victory over her rival Swiatek in their 16th overall meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. That streak includes a 6-4, 6-4 win in last year’s United Cup, as well as wins at Madrid and the 2024 WTA Finals.

"I thought I did everything well, served well, returned well" Gauff said to the WTA on her match vs. Swiatek. "I thought it was a great match for me. I was hoping to get through in the mixed but overall there's a lot of positives to take from today."

The two rivals traded a few holds initially as Gauff, who served first, took a 2-1 lead before notching the match’s first strike. She broke Swiatek and backed it up with a hold, amassing to a 4-1 advantage, but the Pole swiftly found herself back in the set.

Swiatek won 12 consecutive points to win three straight games and level the set at 4-4. She had the momentum, but Gauff remained calm and composed for the remainder of the 43-minute first set. She held serve, and on the ensuing Swiatek service game, the American No. 1 needed just one set point to close it out.

That momentum carried its way into the second, where Gauff bolted out to a 5-0 lead -- Swiatek saved three match points to prevent the second set bagel to get two games back.

In the second and fourth games, Gauff needed three and four break point chances, respectively, to secure the game as each went into a long deuce. In the fourth, Swiatek even had multiple game points of her own, but the final two points saw Swiatek’s shots go long and wide, a common occurrence Saturday evening.

"I feel like Coco has improved stuff. It's quite visible. The matches we played couple years back where most of them were kind of one-sided," Swiatek said. "She's also growing in age, more experienced as well.

"She's a top player for many years now, even though she started with she was, like, 16, much earlier than most of us do. Yeah, congrats to her basically."

It wasn’t the same Swiatek that defeated Maya Joint 6-1, 6-1 a day prior, but she'll have a chance to get her 16th overall singles win at the tournament against Bencic.

As for Hurkacz, the Pole continued his dream start to his comeback with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) win against Fritz.

"Obviously playing Taylor is such a big challenge and it’s a very difficult match, especially this court, it’s quite fast. He’s serving very powerfully. Also, his forehand is really big, so if you leave anything short, he’s going to come after it," Hurkacz told ATP No. 1 Club Jim Courier. "I felt like I played actually quite solid myself. I tried to be more aggressive."

Hurkacz has now beaten Alexander Zverev, Tallon Griekspoor and Fritz in Sydney, claiming all three of those victories in straight sets. Hurkacz saved the two break points he faced against Fritz, which doubled as set points at 4-5 in the opening set, to earn the lead for his country in one hour and 35 minutes.

"Coming back from such a long period the first time in my life, you never know what to expect," Hurkacz said. "I was putting so much work outside of the court so, I give myself time to get back to my level, to an even better level and maybe a little bit less expectations coming into this week helped as well.”

Fritz led Hurkacz 4-2 in their head-to-head series, including two previous wins at the United Cup. But the Pole and his booming serve proved too much for the American.

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