'No need': Iga Swiatek honestly reacts to Sabalenka's match against Kyrgios

Saturday, 03 January 2026 at 20:45

byErik Virostko

Iga Swiatek honestly reacted to the Battle of the Sexes match, which took part during the off-season.

While Swiatek prepared for the new season, which she will start at the United Cup, her main rival on the WTA Tour, Aryna Sabalenka, had a different program. The reigning world No. 1 player took on Nick Kyrgios in the Battle of the Sexes match. Kyrgios beat Sabalenka in a match that drew plenty of attention and some criticism.

During the off-season, most tennis players spend time away from the limelight, so unless they want to share their thoughts about a particular topic, there's a chance fans won't hear from them. But with the new season starting in Australia, players were asked questions that many journalists and fans wanted answered.

Swiatek, in particular, was asked about her rival's match against Kyrgios. The Polish player seemed unimpressed by Sabalenka's decision to play against an ATP player, saying there is no need to compare men's and women's sports in 2026.

"No, I haven't watched, because I don't watch stuff like that. I think for sure it attracted, like, a lot of attention. It was an entertainment, but I wouldn't say that it had anything to do with, like, social change or any important topics. I think the name was just the same as the one from the Billie Jean King match in '73. That's it."

"There were no more similarities because I feel like women's tennis stands on its own right now. We have so many great athletes and great stories to present, we don't necessarily need to compare to men's tennis. It's a totally different story. I think, honestly, there doesn't need to be any competition."

Swiatek believes that, instead of comparing men and women in exhibition events like the one between Sabalenka and Kyrgios, the tennis world should focus on uniting the athletes through tournaments such as the United Cup. The Hopman Cup is another mixed-team event on the calendar.

"I think actually events like this one, United Cup, brings tennis all together, and WTA fans and ATP fans can watch this event with so much excitement. Seeing also singles players that usually don't have space to play mixed doubles together, playing these kind of matches, I think this is actually what makes our sport much more interesting and better."

"So, I haven't watched the match. I only know about how it looked like. But I think it was for sure nice entertainment and an exhibition match between these two."

Iga Swiatek explains her decision to play the United Cup instead of other events

For a few years now, Swiatek has been choosing the United Cup as her first tournament of the season. In fact, the Polish player has participated in every edition of the tournament since its launch in 2023.

Speaking ahead of this year's tournament, Swiatek was asked why she chooses the mixed-team event over other tournaments and whether she has considered playing in Adelaide, for example, a city that hosts a WTA 500 tournament.

Swiatek explained that, for her, playing a team event is always special, which is why she intends to play the United Cup whenever she has the chance.

"Well, I did consider, because you always need to look at all the options. But I had both experiences, because I also played Adelaide before in 2022, 2021 also something as well before the Australian Open. I think both options are great. Playing United Cup, I will always want to because the atmosphere is so much different."

"We get so many normal tournaments on Tour that, honestly, it gets boring sometimes. Playing a team event and having the different energy, like being able to have a team and talk to different people than we do on tour, I think it's great. It's really refreshing. I will always choose the United Cup."