Swiatek: 'I'd Be a Better Player With More Training Time' Ahead of Australian Open

She's Won It All... Except Australian Open. Perfectionist Swiatek Reveals Key Game Tweaks

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Adrien Guyot

le 16/01/2026 à 12h17

2 min to read

Open d'Australie Swiatek Iga

Iga Swiatek enters as one of the favorites at the Australian Open. The Pole has never triumphed in Melbourne, missing that trophy to complete her Career Grand Slam after winning Roland Garros four times, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Twice an unlucky semifinalist in Australia (2022 and 2025), world No. 2 missed a match point against Madison Keys last year before suffering a heartbreaking loss just shy of the final.

“Sensations change every day”

The 24-year-old, who just won the United Cup with Poland for the first time in her career, will open her 2026 campaign against qualifier Yuan Yue.

Before facing the WTA No. 130, Swiatek fielded questions from reporters at the traditional Media Day press conference. She discussed the changes she can still make to her game.

“It’s hard for me to define myself because in tennis, sensations change every day. There are matches where I feel like a wall at the back of the court, defending really well, but then I miss easy balls when I need to be aggressive, and vice versa.

“The most important thing is being ready to adapt to anything”

The most important thing is being ready to accept whatever happens and adapt to the circumstances. If you want to reach the top, you have to be great in attack but also in defense.

I think I can still improve a lot in terms of variety. Using my slice backhand more, coming to the net more often... I sometimes stick to my usual patterns, even though my coach encourages me to tap into those shots more.

I think if I had more time to train, I'd be a better player because I could work much more on the parts of my game that aren't my strengths. Between tournaments, we barely have time to learn new things,” Swiatek told Punto de Break.