'I'll be good,' says bruised Swiatek

She was serving a one-month doping ban around the WTA Finals

WARSAW:

For Iga Swiatek, whose confidence has been shaken by slipping to world number two and more so by serving a one-month doping ban around the WTA Finals in November, the 2025 Australian Open may be the most defining tournament of her career so far.

"I'll be good," the 23-year-old Swiatek, who wants to dominate women tennis once again, said in response to her loss to American Coco Gauff in Sunday's United Cup final, trying to dispel concerns about an apparent issue with her left thigh ahead of the Melbourne Grand Slam.

The five-times grand slam champion, whose best performance on the Australian Open's hard courts was the 2022 semi-final she lost to American Danielle Collins, tested positive in an out-of-competition sample in August for trimetazidine.

The ITIA, which runs tennis's anti-doping programme, accepted that it was caused by contamination of her sleep medication.

Swiatek was provisionally suspended from Sept. 12 until Oct. 4, missing three tournaments, and served the last eight days of the ban after playing at November's WTA Finals in Riyadh.

She won five titles in 2024, including a third straight French Open prior to the suspension, but the tally trails that of her six and eight titles in the two previous seasons.

After having tussled all year with the Australian Open defending champion, the big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka, she now lags behind the Belarusian by 1,536 points in the WTA rankings.

Although Swiatek leads Gauff 11-3 in their meetings, the loss at the United Cup was the second straight defeat to the American, who is showing signs of mastering her answers to the Pole's heavy forehand.

In October, Swiatek added Belgian Wim Fissette, a former coach to top-ranked players such as Naomi Osaka and Kim Clijsters, to her team after parting way with Tomasz Wiktorowski.

The Australian Open will be the first serious test of chemistry between the new coach and Swiatek – and of their joint strategy.

After her tumultuous last season that was also marked by public backlash following the acceptance of her doping suspension, things can only get better in 2025 for the introverted Swiatek, Polish sports media say.

Swiatek herself said in a recent interview with Tennis Insider Club that she was changing her attitude away from allowing tennis to be her whole life.

"I'm trying to enjoy life a little more," she said. "You have to balance it out."

Whether the desire for a bit of flamboyance alters her traditionally deliberate style of play remains to be seen.

On Sunday, she said she was happy with her performance at the United Cup where for the first time ever she defeated her longtime nemesis Elena Rybakina on a hard court.

"I pushed myself to the limits of my abilities," she said. "I knew I had nothing to lose."

Third AO title

Aryna Sabalenka is clear favourite to win a third straight Australian Open title later this month but the Belarusian did not get to be world number one by taking anything for granted.

Unbeaten at Melbourne Park since a fourth round loss to Kaia Kanepi as second seed in 2022, the 26-year-old started her season by claiming her 18th career WTA title in Brisbane on Sunday.

Sabalenka knows, however, that her winning streak and ranking will mean nothing to the other 127 women in the draw and landing a fourth major title on Jan. 25 will require another Herculean effort. "Every time you're out there, you have to compete, you have to fight," she said on Sunday after beating Russian Polina Kudermetova in the Brisbane final.

"You have to show why you are world number one or why you're in the top 10. It doesn't matter. You have to show your level and you have to fight for it."

For all her power and weapons on court, Sabalenka's path to the top of the game was far from smooth. REUTERS