Iga Świątek ‘nie jest jedną z faworytek’ do wygrania Australian Open mimo ‘misji zemsty’, twierdzi była numer 1 na świecie

Iga Swiatek is likely to win one or two Grand Slam trophies in 2025, but she has a better chance of winning Wimbledon than the Australian Open, according to Mats Wilander.
Aged just 23, Swiatek is already a five-time Grand Slam winner having won four titles at Roland Garros to go with her 2022 US Open trophy.

The Pole, though, is yet to crack the code at the Australian Open with her best performance coming in 2022 when she reached the semi-final before losing against Danielle Collins.

Last year she was stunned in the third round by Linda Noskova and tennis great Wilander believes Swiatek will again find it difficult at Melbourne Park this year as the playing conditions are not suited to her style of play.

“The Australian Open is not a great surface for Iga Swiatek. It’s very fast, it’s quicker than the US Open and pretty much anywhere,” the seven-time Grand Slam winner told Eurosport.

“Because it’s so hot, the tennis ball flies through the air, and these are the absolute worst conditions possible for Iga Swiatek.

“I think that she might have a better chance at Wimbledon than she does at the Australian Open in many ways.

“It’s not the perfect conditions for Iga Swiatek, but at the same time, you’ve got to be fit, you’ve got to be ready to go and she’s always ready to go.
“I think the players who win the Australian Open are those who are ready to go any day, any time of day.

“I think she will have a good tournament, but no, she’s not one of the favourites to win it, but she certainly could cause an upset and win the Australian Open.”
Swiatek lost the world No 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka last October, but she could return to the top of the WTA Rankings if she wins the Australian Open and the Belarusian exits the tournament early.

The world No 2 also has a new coach in her corner with Belgian Wim Fissette joining her set-up during the latter stages of the 2024 campaign.

Wilander feels Swiatek will win a major this year, but just not the Australian Open.

“I think Iga is probably full of revenge for many reasons – the biggest being that she lost her No 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka,” Wilander said.
“She has a new coach [Fissette] in her corner. She’s not always going to be the best player in the world, but she’s going to be knocking on the door to the No 1 ranking for at least another five years.

“She’s too serious. She’s too good. She’s too complete.

“Yes, she has a problem against some of the big hitters on the women’s tour, but so does everybody else too.

“Not much is going to change her mindset or her drive, or her ambition and motivation to be the absolute best version of herself every single day she steps on the court.

“It’s hard to say that she’s not going to win a Grand Slam. I think she’s going to win one, she might even win two.”