Iga Swiatek has arrived in New York for the US Open tennis tournament after turning around her season with strong performances in Canada and Ohio. The Polish star is listed among the favorites for the title at Flushing Meadows, where she previously won her sole tournament victory in 2022.
Her arrival in the United States follows her strongest stretch of form in nearly a year. After being eliminated in the third round at Wimbledon, Swiatek claimed the WTA 1000 title in Toronto and subsequently reached the semi-finals at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.
Swiatek is one of the premier players in women's tennis, having established herself at the top of the WTA rankings with multiple Grand Slam titles. The US Open, held annually in New York, serves as the final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis calendar. WTA 1000 tournaments represent the highest tier of competition on the women's professional tour below the four Grand Slams.
Coaching changes and season difficulties
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the tournament, Swiatek reflected on the challenges of her current campaign. According to TennisUpToDate, she admitted that the season had not been easy, describing it as probably the hardest and most demanding period of her career. She noted that changing coaches prior to the clay-court season created a difficult situation.
Swiatek explained that after beginning her collaboration with coach Francisco Roig, she wanted to implement everything they practiced during training sessions. However, initial time constraints on practice sessions made that transition challenging before her work finally settled down.
The Polish player also displayed a noticeable shift in her body language during recent weeks compared to her demeanor during the spring season.
Training block after Wimbledon
The turning point in her season arrived directly after Wimbledon, Swiatek revealed. She explained that taking a few days off to rest allowed her to recover before entering a significantly longer training block, which helped her integrate the technical and tactical changes she had discussed with her team.
Evaluating her recent tournament results, Swiatek described her last two appearances as super positive. Despite losing her semi-final match in Cincinnati against Jesse, she said the contest was played at a very high level. She added that she had rewatched the match the day before and found it enjoyable to view, expressing satisfaction with her play and the adjustments she had made.
Swiatek stated that working with Roig felt natural from the start and that their partnership clicked at a certain point. She explained that changes came to her more intuitively without the need for overthinking, freeing up mental space to concentrate, react to on-court situations, and solve problems during matches.
First round match and tournament draw
Swiatek will open her US Open tournament against Xiyu Wang of China, who is ranked 82nd in the WTA world rankings. The Polish player has played against Wang twice before, winning both of those matches. Their meeting in New York is scheduled to take place during the night between August 31 and September 1 at 1:00 AM Polish time.
If Swiatek advances to the second round, she will face the winner of the opening match between Nadia Podoroska, who is ranked 447th in the WTA rankings, and Simona Waltert, ranked 85th.
