Tennis star Iga Swiatek helped Poland defeat five-time champion Spain 2-0 to guarantee their spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals’ round of eight in Malaga.
Swiatek, currently ranked second in the world, defeated Paula Badosa of Spain with a final score of 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 in the second singles match. Furthermore, in a three-hour-and-fifty-one-minute match, Magda Linette had earlier placed Poland ahead by defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-4.
Swiatek said: “I wouldn’t say that I pushed us to the quarter-finals, because Magda pushed us to the quarter-finals, so we did it together.”
She added: “I’m glad that we won a match as Team Poland. I felt like it was my best match since the US Open… I knew that I could come back in the third set and try to win it for Poland.”
Poland have never won the BJK Cup in its 61-year history. This is the first time Poland have advanced to the quarter-finals under the current format. In the round of eight, they will battle the Czech Republic, who have won the event eleven times.
Iga Swiatek will make sure she plays with “extra focus” as she makes her Billie Jean King Cup Finals debut for Poland against host country Spain. She is expected to battle against Paula Badosa, the top-ranked player from Spain, in the opening round of the competition.
Swiatek admitted: “It’s not the first time I’m playing somebody who is going to have the whole audience behind them…It’s not going to be easy and I will need an extra focus. I’m going to focus on my tennis first, because playing against Paula is always a challenge. I’ll prepare tactically because we haven’t played in a while.”
With just one tournament since the US Open, Swiatek should be relatively fresh for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She lost two of her three matches in the WTA Finals, which led to her elimination at the event.
Meanwhile, Badosa has been in impressive form in the second part of the season after suffering a back injury earlier this year and hinted that she might not have much time left in the sport. With her comeback, Badosa will surely have the support of a passionate home crowd in Malaga.
When asked about Badosa’s comeback to the top, Swiatek said: “I was actually looking at her journey and I was kind of worried if she was going to be able to come back, because obviously her injuries weren’t easy and smooth, and sometimes she tried, but it wasn’t working.”
“So honestly, I was super happy to see her back playing her tennis in these tournaments, at the US Open, and plenty of others. She’s a really, really nice person, and I felt like she’s really pushing to be back,” she added.
In the Billie Jean King Cup Finals last year, Spain and Poland also faced off, with Spain emerging victorious in the competition.
Poland advanced to the United Cup mixed team tournament semi-finals for the third year in a row after defeating Britain 2-0, all thanks to the thrilling singles win in Sydney.
Iga Swiatek won against Katie Boulter 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4 to go to the final four of the $10 million tournament.
With her victory, Swiatek admitted: “I’m just exhausted… I’m happy that I won, so that I don’t need to play mixed doubles. This match was crazy, so many changes of momentum.”
Highlights of the game
In the first set, Swiatek lost a 4-1 lead, which Boulter won in 74 minutes following a valiant comeback.
However, Swiatek remained unstoppable and defeated Boulter in the second set. She also overcame a right leg problem in the finals to win.
Swiatek stated: “I thought I had it under control in the first set but I got tight. I didn’t want to repeat the same mistake in the third and I took four pain killers… A lot hurt, but I’m happy that I won and for sure I’m going to need the day off tomorrow.”
She added: “If they give me space to lie down (in the dugout) I’ll take a nap … I think I’ll just go to the locker and die.”
Meanwhile, the 2023 champions, the United States, have advanced to the semi-finals and will face the victor of Friday’s quarter-final matchup between the Czech Republic and Italy. The finals will take place on Sunday.
Tereza Mihalikova and Viktoria Hruncakova’s doubles team pulled off an incredible comeback victory, advancing Slovakia to the Billie Jean King Cup final.
After defeating Hruncakova in the first singles match, Emma Raducanu gave Britain the lead. However, Rebecca Sramkova responded, came back stronger and defeated Katie Boulter in three sets.
Slovakia advanced to the final against Italy. Mihalikova and Hruncakova defeated the British duo of Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls 6-2, 6-2.
Making history, Slovakia are making their first appearance in the women’s team event final since defeating Spain in 2002. After winning the doubles, Hruncakova said: “Emma played absolutely amazing, so I did not feel bad after the match, actually, and I was very hopeful that Rebecca could make a point for us and that we can play a deciding doubles… And that happened. It was the best doubles of our lives.”
Britain lost the chance to make it to the final for the first time since their 1981 defeat against the United States.
World number four Jasmine Paolini, who won gold with Sara Errani at the Olympics in Paris, will lead Italy in the doubles.
The 22-year-old will reclaim her No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings after she won the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, edging past Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek’s WTA finals journey
Swiatek had an intriguing start to her WTA finals journey when she alone donned a red dress at the draw ceremony and pre-tournament photo shoot, while the rest of the seven girls were all dressed in white. This caused Swiatek to stand out from the crowd, garnering the attention of many spectators, who complimented her on her stunning attire.
When interviewed by the Tennis Channel, Swiatek asserted that the incident was the result of a miscommunication. The Polish player shared that she had selected the dress, which had been designed by Magda Butrym, a few months prior to the ceremony, but then received an email from the WTA informing her that the dress code was to be white.
“Honestly there was no story!” she laughed. “I picked that dress a couple of months before, and then the WTA emailed us that we should all wear white. And we were like, really? We’re not getting married or something?
Iga Swiatek on why she was the only one wearing red at the WTA Finals Gala:
“Honestly there was no story. I picked the dress a couple months before. Then WTA emailed us that we should all wear white. We were like ‘really?’ We’re not getting married or something 😂. We asked them… pic.twitter.com/hF5ehbYQEU
“So we asked them if it’s possible to maybe not have that rule. And they literally sent an email a few hours later saying that it’s okay, you can wear whatever you want,” Swiatek said.
And for the rest of the week, Swiatek stood out as she didn’t lose one single game in the round-robin format of the tournament, prevailed against Bulgarian player Aryna Sabalenka, and reached the WTA Finals final, where she finally defeated American player Jessica Pegula in a dominant fashion.
Swiatek prevailed via a straight-set victory of 6-1, 6-0 to become the youngest champion since Petra Kvitova (21) in 2011, according to Olympics.com. This victory marked her first time winning at the WTA finals, her sixth title of the year, her sixty-eighth win of the year, and her seventeenth career singles title on the Hologic WTA tour.
As a result, Swiatek will now be reclaiming her throne from Sabalenka to finish as the year-end No. 1 for the second straight season.
When asked about her most recent success, Swiatek described it as “a dream come true.”
“Coming back to world number one, it’s a dream come true, for sure,” Swiatek said per the WTA official website. “I would say I wasn’t expecting that right now, this season. I was hoping that maybe next year is gonna be my year, but it seems like you know, just working hard and focusing on the right things at the end worked. So I’m really happy.”
YEAR-END #1 IN 2022, YEAR-END #1 IN 2023! 🔥
With her triumph at the WTA Finals in Cancun, 🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek will now finish as year-end #1 on the WTA rankings for the SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR. ✌️
She's the youngest woman to achieve the feat since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010-2011:
For the first time this season, Aryna Sabalenka defeated world No. 1 Iga Swiatek to advance to the Cincinnati Open final.
The two had previously faced off in the 2024 Madrid Open and Italian Open finals, with Sabalenka losing both times. Sabalenka, who will move up to the second rank in the world, finally defeated her opponent in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 after failing to convert nine match points.
After winning the match, Sabalenka said: “It sounds like I broke the wall finally… I’m super happy. After such a tough battle against Iga, I’m super happy with the win.”
She will now play against Jessica Pegula in the finals. The American beat Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the other semi-final. Moreover, Pegula has won her past nine matches. A win over Sabalenka would guarantee a double at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.
