Swiatek seeks revenge in the United Cup's big elimination round: "One year is too long, but we're going for USA"

Carlos Navarro | 9 Jan 2026 | 15.37

Swiatek wants to seek revenge after the defeat in the final against the USA last year.

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The United Cup 2026 is approaching a true movie-like finale. Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz have once again led Poland to the semifinals, which still feel insufficient. The objective of the Central European squad is, at the minimum, to replicate their final appearance from last season, where they came close to the title but ultimately faced a very strong United States team.

Once again, it is Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz who stand between the Polish team and glory, this time in an earlier round. The performance displayed by Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz makes them the clear favorites for the title, although they had a tough battle to overcome Australia in the quarterfinals, a tie that was decided by the supporting cast, Jan Zielinski and Katerina Kawa, in the mixed doubles. Tomorrow, a new attempt at the title... although Iga is not interested in any potential vendetta: the sole goal is to accumulate playing time on the court, silence any opponents, and bring home Poland's first team title in the history of tennis.

Swiatek dismisses the sense of revenge and Hurkacz is proud of the mixed doubles: this is how Poland seeks to conquer the United Cup 2026

- They face off once again in this tournament against Gauff and Fritz following last year's final

SWIATEK: "Honestly, I had no idea we were facing the United States. I found out once we had the mixed doubles under control. I will prepare a good plan for the match tomorrow. It's a great duel, I think it's quite exciting for the fans. I will focus on my singles match; it's clear that Coco and I know each other very well, we know each other's styles. The key will be to focus on myself, implement on the court everything I've worked on during the preseason, and be courageous in the decisions I make".

HURKACZ: "Same here. Taylor is an amazing player; he had a fantastic season last year. Facing him will be a very fun challenge. We already met in last year's final, and it was a closely fought battle. I will try to be a bit better this year".

- About the great match he played today against de Miñaur, although he eventually fell in the third set

HURKACZ: "After not playing tennis for quite some time, being able to enjoy an atmosphere like today's was quite enjoyable. There were a lot of Polish fans cheering us on; I could see that people were having a good time. I tried to showcase my best, although it wasn't enough. I had some opportunities that maybe with time and more matches, I'll be able to approach them more intelligently, more committed to my tennis. Somewhat disappointed with the result, but proud of my fight and happy to have competed at such a high level. I'm excited for the new challenge that awaits me tomorrow".

- Iga, facing a new challenge against a rival she knows very well, Coco Gauff

SWIATEK: "I've played so many matches against Coco that I don't pay much attention to past encounters. If I had to do that for every match, I would have to think a lot because we have faced each other many times. After our match in this tournament last year, it's a contest that I haven't analyzed much. Back then, I was already focused on the Australian Open. I will sit down with Wim (Fissette) tomorrow, and he will give me the keys and advice to win. I feel that a full year in our lives is very long. It wouldn't make sense to focus on a tie that took place last year. If it had happened a week ago, I might have very recent and fresh memories, but it doesn't make sense to dwell on something that happened so long ago; I think neither of us will do that".

- About the excellent match he played today against Join: how was he able to dominate so easily, finally winning by a double 6-1?

SWIATEK: "How? Well, it's 20 years of work (smiles). I had a very clear plan about what I wanted to do and I focused on that. I wanted to be very intense from the beginning, put Maya under pressure, and it worked. Every point mattered; I didn't want to give her free points. I felt a bit more at ease on the court than in my previous two matches and took advantage of the opportunities I had".

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Swiatek busca revancha en la gran eliminatoria de la United Cup: "Un año es demasiado tiempo, pero vamos a por USA"

Iga Swiatek