Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the two top-ranked womenโs players heading into the 2026 Australian Open, but their Sunday night matches couldnโt have been further apart.
While Sabalenkaโs ended with a trophy lift and 22nd career title with victory in Brisbane, Swiatekโs ended in tears as the world no.2 suffered another defeat ahead of the first grand slam of the year.
World no.2 Iga Swiatek in her match against Belinda Bencic on Sunday night.Credit: Getty Images
The shining light for Swiatek was that Poland went on to win the United Cup final, despite her three-set capitulation to Switzerlandโs Belinda Bencic, and she eventually lifted a trophy after the nation was the tournament bridesmaids in 2024 and 2025.
But a racquet toss as she entered the team box after her match just about summed up Swiatekโs results ahead of the Australian Open, and she now heads to Melbourne Park with back-to-back losses after also falling to Coco Gauff on Saturday night.
But by time Swiatek and team Poland hit the press conference room just shy of 1am, anger and frustration had been replaced with elation, and the world no.2 was quick to quash concerns about her health after she was left in tears on court twice this week.
โEverything is fine, just super sore. I guess, first tournament of the year it costs everybody a bit differently than during the season, but I had a similar experience last year,โ she said.
โIโll just get good recovery, a couple of days off. Also, I know these team events, I love them, but they really take a lot of energy from you, so I still need to figure out how to balance that maybe in the future.
โBecause I get so excited on the bench that itโs almost like playing a match. Itโs all good, I for sure, physically wasnโt in the second set the best version of myself and I definitely used it to push me, but for sure Iโll try to get that covered before Australian Open.โ
