Swiatek Leads Poland To Opening United Cup Victory With Thrashing Win And Doubles Magic
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Iga Swiatek really had to put together a heroic performance to guide Poland past Norway in their opening tie at the 2025 United Cup.
Poland is one of the strongest teams in the United Cup. In fact, they are the second-seeded team, having the WTA World No. 2 player and the ATP World No. 16 player.
Last year, they even had two match points to win the competition, but ultimately, Germany proved to be too strong to overcome. This year, Swiatek returned to the United Cup with one goal on her mind.
Their first tie, however, was a proper battle, even though it didn't look that way initially. In the first singles match of the tie, Swiatek took on Norway's Malene Helgo, who previously put together some inspired performances at the United Cup, but she's still a player ranked 404th in the world, so the difference between her and the Polish player is huge.
That was obvious in the match. Swiatek started by winning the first nine points, after which Helgo was able to win one game, with the scoreboard showing 3-1 for Poland.
From there, it was one-way traffic, as Swiatek dominated the match, winning all the remaining games to win 6-0, 6-1, and secure the first point for Poland.
After the match, she was asked whether it was a "new Iga" after she changed her coach, but the Polish player insisted that she was still the same.
"No, no. Come on. Same Iga. It’s always the same Iga. I feel good. I feel happy. I’m happy I can play tennis overall… just taking everything step by step. Focusing on Aussie swing, and we’ll see what’s next."
After the women's singles match, it was time for the men's singles match, with Hubert Hurkacz taking on Casper Ruud. While for Swiatek, the question about the "new Iga" might have been suitable, it wouldn't be more suitable for anyone else than Hurkacz.
The Polish player has two new coaches, he has a new clothing sponsor, switching from Yonex to Adidas, and he has a new racket sponsor, switching from Yonex to Wilson.
It looked like a completely different player on the tennis court, and unfortunately for the Polish fans, not only because of Hurkacz's gear. Ruud dominated him from the moment the first rally was played.
The Norwegian player was the better of the two in almost every aspect, beating Hurkacz 7-5, 6-3 to force the mixed doubles match.
Hurkacz wasn't nominated for the mixed doubles. Instead, Swiatek was joined by doubles specialist Jan Zielinski. On the other side of the court, Ruud joined forces with Ulrikke Eikeri.
The Polish team started the mixed doubles match better, winning the opening set 6-3, but in the second set, Swiatek experienced something she rarely experiences on the tennis court. Poland lost the set 0-6.
Swiatek is usually the one handing out "bagels" but this time, she was on the receiving end. Still, she and Zielinski managed to find some inspired level in the match tie-break to win the match 6-3, 0-6, 10-8, beating Norway and securing their first point at the 2025 United Cup.
