Iga Swiatek and Paula Badosa shared a friendly exchange at the net after their high-quality Billie Jean King Cup Finals match.
The contest between the pair was the most highly anticipated match before the Finals in Malaga began. It is Swiatek's second tournament, working with Naomi Osaka's former coach, Wim Fissette.
Many were shocked when Swiatek and Tomasz Wiktorowski officially parted ways in October. The Pole won four of her five Grand Slams in almost three years working alongside Wiktorowski.
Fissette ended his second spell with Osaka after this year's US Open. During their first spell, he helped the Japanese star win the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open but could not help Osaka recapture her best tennis this year.
The Belgian also helped Kim Clijsters win two US Open titles and Angelique Kerber secure the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, making the 44-year-old one of the most experienced coaches in the sport.
Swiatek and Fissette's first tournament together was last week's WTA Finals. The world No. 2 defeated Barbora Krejcikova and the alternate Daria Kasatkina during the round-robin stage of the season-ending tournament.
However, a defeat to the eventual champion, Coco Gauff, in her second match of the round-robin stage was enough to eliminate the Pole. That made her just the fourth WTA player in 20 years not to progress to the semifinals with two round-robin triumphs.
Some of Swiatek's fans claimed Gauff deliberately lost her last round-robin match against Barbora Krejcikova to eliminate the four-time French Open champion, but Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, dismissed that conspiracy.
Getting used to working with Fissette means their early tournaments together are important. That may be part of why Swiatek decided to play at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, having initially planned to skip the event.
The former world No. 1 faced a stiff challenge against Paula Badosa, who had a home crowd behind her in Malaga. Their match was initially scheduled for Wednesday but got postponed until Friday due to a severe weather alert in Malaga.
Swiatek played an excellent opening set, winning it 6-3. Badosa raised her level impressively in the second and delighted the Spanish fans by forcing a decider after triumphing 7-5 on a tiebreak.
However, Swiatek showed her champion's mentality when it mattered. She played one of her best sets of 2024 on a hard court to seal a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 victory after a match that lived up to the hype beforehand.
The video below shows that the two had a lovely exchange at the net. The Spaniard hugged Swiatek and jokingly told her she ruined her birthday. Badosa turned 27 on Friday.
She then also posted about it on social media, once again reminding the World No. 2 that she had ruined her birthday by beating her.
"Too good, Iga. Thank you for ruining my birthday. It was very nice to share the court with you again. You made me realize I still have to work my ass off a bit more. Keep inspiring."
That nice moment contrasts with Danielle Collins directing heated words at Swiatek at the net after their Olympic quarterfinal. But the American recently said the issue received more attention because they are women.
Magda Linette beating Sara Sorribes Tormo in nearly four hours in the opening match of the tie meant Poland eliminated Spain with a 2-0 win and will face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal on Saturday.
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