Iga Swiatek & Hubi Hurkacz give Poland perfect start at United Cup in Perth

 

PERTH, Australia -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek enjoyed a victorious start to her 2024 season, defeating No.11 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-2 at the United Cup. Swiatek's victory gave Poland an early 1-0 lead over Brazil in their opening tie in Group A. The victory extended Swiatek's active win streak to 12 consecutive matches.

Hubert Hurkacz followed Swiatek with a comeback 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Thiago Seyboth Wild in two hours and 24 minutes. The victory gave Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead to clinch the tie. Swiatek and Hurkacz teamed up to give Poland a clean sweep, defeating Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-3 in mixed doubles.

Seeded No.1, Poland moves to 1-0 in Group A. Brazil drops to 0-2 and is eliminated, having dropped its opening tie to Spain.

Saturday's match was not only a rematch of last year's French Open semifinal, but it also pit two extended winning streaks against each other. Swiatek and Haddad Maia finished their 2023 campaigns with unbeaten runs. Swiatek reeled off 11 consecutive wins to capture the China Open and WTA Finals to finish the year at No.1. Haddad Maia took the title at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and extended her streak to seven after defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo on Day 1 at the United Cup.

In their third career meeting, Swiatek took control from the start and did not let up. Haddad Maia held serve to open the match before Swiatek ran off five consecutive games with her relentless baseline pressure and closed the set two games later.

Haddad Maia amplified her aggression in the second set and was rewarded by her first three break points of the match. But Swiatek dismissed them all with pinpoint serving to open a 4-1 lead. The Brazilian finally broke serve with a perfectly timed backhand winner to close the gap at 4-2. Swiatek responded by winning eight of the next 10 points to seal the victory after 1 hour and 18 minutes.

"I didn't hesitate," Swiatek said. "Even though it's a quicker surface than what I practiced on, I didn't slow my hand down. And also I was feeling pretty relaxed. I think the way we did this pre-season with more peace and more time actually for me to reset and sometimes even have a couple of days off between the training blocks, I think it just gave me a lot of peace.

"I was really focused during this pre-season. I hope I'm going to be more relaxed on court because of that at the beginning of the season."

Swiatek finished the match with 21 winners while holding Haddad Maia to just seven. She improved her record to 2-1 over the Brazilian.

Poland will next face Spain in the final tie of Group A. Hurkacz, who won titles in Marseille and Shanghai in 2023, went 26-6 against players outside the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings last season. He will look to remain unbeaten in the new season when he meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Monday. Swiatek will take on Sara Sorribes Tormo.

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Iga Swiatek confident ahead of pressure-packed Olympic year

PERTH, Australia -- Iga Swiatek has been here before. Last year, the 22-year-old kicked off her season at the United Cup with the No.1 ranking next to her name. Twelve months on, she is back at it again, this time leading Poland in Perth.

Yet for Swiatek, this is no redux. As she prepares for her first match of the season on Dec. 30 against Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia, Swiatek is in the midst of an evolution, one she cemented by her perfect run at the WTA Finals in Cancun to edge Aryna Sabalenka for the year-end No.1 ranking.

"Playing these final matches in Cancun with such baggage on my shoulders in terms of rankings, it gave me a lot of confidence," Swiatek told reporters at United Cup Media Day. "I learned a lot about myself. I'm going to take it in 2024.

"Honestly, I'm looking ahead for these tournaments that are going to happen here in Australia for me. I want to take it step by step. I feel more prepared for sure to deal with the pressure of being World No.1 this year than last year."

With more tools at her disposal, Swiatek feels well-equipped to take on yet another tricky season. While last year's degree of difficulty was boosted by the pressure to back up her historic 2022 season, this year's schedule will include the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be played this summer at Roland Garros.

The importance of the Olympics can vary from player to player, but Swiatek has a special connection to the games. Her father, Tomasz, competed at the 1988 Olympics as a rower.

Swiatek made her own Olympics debut in Tokyo in 2021. She lost in the second round to Paula Badosa.

"For sure the pressure was huge," Swiatek said. "I mean, you could see after I lost against Paula, I cried, it was a big fuss.

"This time is going to be a little bit different. I'm going to know the venue. It's going to be on my favorite surface. On the other hand, these also bring up more expectations from the outside.

"I guess I'll have to do the same kind of work as I do on every other tournament. I'm not going to lie to myself that it's going to be easy or the same because it will be different a little bit."

Behind Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, Poland is the top seed at the United Cup. WTA Coach of the Year Tomasz Wiktorowski plans to use the week to build toward Olympic success.

"Obviously we won't be able to practice mixed doubles too many times, so this is a very good chance for us to play for our country and at the same time, to practice for Olympic Games," Wiktorowski said.

"We're always saying we're always right here right now for this tournament, but, yes, with Iga we are thinking about the Olympics. Maybe we'll have one more chance in Indian Wells -- there is a small exo where we can play mixed doubles. We have a chance for Olympic medal. We're going to practice here and try to deliver to the court the best quality we can."

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Iga Swiatek and team Poland hit the beach in Perth Australia

World No.1 Iga Swiatek and Top 10 ATP star Hubert Hurkacz swapped their racquets for surfboards on Thursday in Perth, where they visited Scarborough Beach with the rest of their United Cup teammates.


Ahead of the United Cup, the tournament’s top seeds took time to soak in the sun and put their surfing skills to the test, hitting the Indian Ocean waves and sharing laughs.

“I have had two windsurfing lessons but I had never surfed before,” Swiatek said. “You guys will have to teach me. My tennis is better for sure!”

Swiatek is making her second appearance at the United Cup, having won three of her four singles matches at the tournament last season to help guide Poland to the semifinals.

With Poland set to face Brazil in its opening match on Saturday, Swiatek is excited to be back at the event. She will face No.11 Beatriz Haddad Maia in her season opener, a rematch of last year's French Open semifinal.

“It is always exciting to be part of Team Poland,” Swiatek said. “I am happy to be playing this event a second time. Last year we had a lot of fun and this year hopefully it will be similar. This is my first time in Perth.

“It is always a challenge, especially when you play the first tournament of the year. But I am pretty excited and besides singles hopefully I play some mixed doubles as I have not played mixed for a while.”

Hurkacz is Poland’s leading men’s player and starts the season at No.9 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after an impressive 2023 season, highlighted by titles in Marseille and Shanghai.

Like Swiatek, the 26-year-old also tested his surfing skills in Perth. Hurkacz is hoping to perform better on court than he did in the ocean.

“It was difficult!” Hurkacz said when asked about his surfing experience. “I thought it would have been a little bit easier. This is my first time in Perth. I like the sea and I am enjoying my time.

“[On Brazil], it is the first match of the year so it is always a bit tricky, but we will try and do our best.”

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Iga Swiatek & Tomasz Wiktorowski named player and coach of the year

•WTA Awards Week kicks off with nine winners announced Monday

•Iga Swiatek, Zheng Qinwen and Mirra Andreeva among Player Award winners
•Ons Jabeur receives two Player Service honors
•Tomasz Wiktorowski named WTA Coach of the Year

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- As 2023 season comes to a close, the WTA will celebrate the standout performers over the next few days as part of awards week, which kicks off Monday with the announcement of the individual award winners.

From Dec. 11 to 15, the WTA will honor the best players, tournaments and coach of the year, as well as those athletes who have made an exceptional contribution to the Hologic WTA Tour at every level.

On Monday, the WTA named five Player Awards, three Player Services Awards and the Coach of Year Award, with the Tournaments of the Year to be unveiled later in the week. All winners will be celebrated across social media and digital platforms over the coming days.

The 2023 WTA Player Award winners, as voted for by international tennis media, are:

Player of the Year: Iga Swiatek

World No.1 Iga Swiatek has been voted as the WTA Player of the Year for the second year in a row, becoming the first player to earn the accolade in back-to-back seasons since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2016. Swiatek won a tour-leading six titles, defending her Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, winning the WTA 1000 China Open (Beijing), WTA 500 events at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open (Doha) and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart), on home soil at the WTA 250 BNP Paribas Warsaw Open before closing out the season going unbeaten at the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun. Her first WTA Finals crown also secured her the year-end No.1 singles ranking for the second consecutive season.

How vulnerability is one of the key assets to the success of Iga Swiatek

Doubles Team of the Year: Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens

Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens first season competing together on our has proved incredibly successful. The potential for a successful partnership was clear from their debut event together with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, before picking up WTA 1000 titles at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and the Guadalajara Open AKRON Presented by SANTANDER. The pair also reached the title match at the WTA 250 Rothesay Classic Birmingham and Wimbledon, with Hunter closing out an incredible year ranked as the WTA doubles year-end No.1.

Most Improved Player of the Year: Zheng Qinwen

Zheng Qinwen is no stranger to the WTA Awards, having been voted as 2022's Newcomer of the Year and has followed this up with more success this season by winning the Most Improved Player of the Year accolade. Zheng collected her first title at the WTA 250 34 Palermo Ladies Open in June, before reaching another career milestone with a quarterfinal run at the US Open. Her rise continued with a second title, this time on home soil at the WTA 500 Bank of Communications Zhengzhou Open. She closed out the season by winning 12 of her last 15 matches culminating with the final at the Huafa Technology WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, achieving a new career-high ranking of No.15.

Newcomer of the Year: Mirra Andreeva

No player in the year-end WTA Top 100 enjoyed a greater rankings jump between 2022 and 2023 than Mirra Andreeva, leaping from No.405 to No.46. She kicked off this season in fine form by reaching the Australian Open girls' final before bursting onto the Hologic WTA Tour with a fairytale Round of 16 run at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open aged just 16 years old, defeating two Top 20 players in the process. She backed this up by storming through qualifying in her debut Grand Slam at Roland-Garros to make the third round and performed similar heroics to reach the second week at Wimbledon.

Comeback Player of the Year: Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina spent 12 months away from the Hologic WTA Tour to welcome daughter Skaï, who was born in October 2022, to her family. Svitolina returned to action in April 2023. Before her pregnancy, Svitolina had spent over 200 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 and just a month after her welcome return to the courts she claimed her 17th career title, at the WTA 500 Internationaux de Strasbourg. Her comeback continued with a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros followed by matching her best Grand Slam result by reaching the semifinal at Wimbledon, defeating WTA World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the process. Over the space of five months, Svitolina shot back up the WTA Rankings and ended the year almost as if she had never been away, at No.25.

Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award & Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award: Ons Jabeur

Ons Jabeur receives double honors in 2023, receiving the Karen Sportsmanship Award for the second year in a row and the Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award for the first time in her career. Both are voted on by her WTA athlete peers, with the Karen Krantzcke Sportmanship Award given in recognition for Jabeur’s gracious and considerate manner, support for fair play and respect for others on and off the court. Introduced in 1977, the Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award celebrates her outstanding support for her fellow players, as well as other initiatives on behalf of the wider player community. Jabeur joins only Kim Clijsters to have won both awards in the same year.

Jerry Diamond ACES Award: Jessica Pegula

Introduced in 1995 in memory of former WTA CEO Jerry Diamond, the ACES Award this year is presented to Jessica Pegula for her consistent professional conduct and willingness to promote women’s tennis to fans, media and local communities by taking part in off-court promotional and charitable activities. Pegula’s important contribution in championing women’s sport is recognized with this award and her name joins a prestigious list of previous winners, which includes Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and most recently Maria Sakkari.

Coach of the Year, as voted on by WTA registered coaches: Tomasz Wiktorowski

Tomasz Wiktorowski, coach of No.1 Iga Swiatek, has been recognized as the 2023 WTA Coach of the Year for his prominent role in making the Polish star a dominant force in their two years together. Wiktorowski was voted to win this award by WTA registered coaches due to the partnership's resilience and mental strength having faced stiff competition in 2023 to hold and recapture the WTA No.1 ranking in addition to leading the tour for titles won (six) and match wins (68). Among many highlights this season was Swiatek becoming the first woman to defend the Roland Garros title since Justine Henin in 2007 and winning the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun without losing a match, the first time this has been done since 2018 when Elina Svitolina went undefeated.

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