CHINA OPEN

September 27, 2025

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/Yuan Yue

6-0, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Iga, congratulations. How was it out there in your first match back at the China Open?

IGA SWIATEK: It was great. I for sure missed the stadium because I really love it. It's beautiful. Yeah, the match was solid. It wasn't easy, especially in the second set. Every game was tight.

Just happy that I could play solid here and I'll have another chance.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. In terms of just court speed conditions, is it playing the way that you remember it two years ago?

IGA SWIATEK: Yes, I would say so. But for sure today the conditions were different than previous days. I think for most of the tournament it's going to be drier and hotter. I think this is what we should, like, adjust to, not today's weather because I think it was different than usual.

But yeah, overall it's pretty much the same as I remember. It's nice.

Q. Iga, watching you over the last few years, to me it looks like in the last maybe year, 18 months, you seem to have changed with your personality a bit when you're playing a match. It just seems to come across there is more animation, a bit more aggression. Would that be fair to say? If that's the case, do you think that has also maybe come about since Aryna took over the No. 1 ranking and you're showing more determination to get that back?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, thank you for overanalyzing, but...

No, like, I don't even know how to answer that 'cause, no, I'm not different person because I'm No. 2. I'm not behaving differently because I'm No. 2. Like, I don't think about it every day. I don't think about it especially during the match when I have work to do.

I think maybe, I don't know, I'm different because I'm older or more experienced or sometimes, I don't know, whatever. But the rankings have nothing to do with that, I would say.

Okay, there are tournaments when maybe I felt like at the beginning of the year, when I posted this Instagram explanation, I was thinking about No. 1 maybe a little bit too much. But yeah, this is just like a moment or few weeks. It's never going to be that your personality on court is changing because of something like that, in my opinion, because that would be weird. That would have too much impact on you and it wouldn't be healthy, I guess.

Q. How long did it take you in your career to get used to the idea of people watching you practice? Here it can be, at slams as well, pretty crazy. I was on Chinese social media, and there was some sort of book, a fan book, that was gifted to you.

IGA SWIATEK: (Nodding head.)

Q. What was your reaction to getting something like that, the general fan vibe here?

IGA SWIATEK: I don't know if we're talking about the same thing. Yeah, I got like a book with drawings. It was like a comic book. It was beautiful. People are really talented.

I feel like the Asian fans are making so much effort to give us something that actually means something to us and to them. I think it's beautiful. I really appreciate that.

I was shocked two years ago when I came here and I got gifts like that because I never experienced that before. Now it's even more, I would say. People are really thankful and grateful for us coming and playing, sometimes inspiring them. Yeah, it's something for sure that will motivate us, as well. It's great.

Yeah, I mean, I got used to people watching me on practice. Sometimes it would be good to have some privacy, for example, when the times are not that easy. But overall it's, like, part of the job and you have to deal with that.

I think the tournaments want us to be more and more visible on the court. I get it. Sometimes I don't get it off the court.

If people want to come watch my practices, I'm totally fine with that. It may happen that sometimes I'll swear more, not be as composed as on the match (smiling).

Q. Do you think that win gives you the confidence heading into the rest of the tournament? How are you planning to tackle the rest of your campaign here mentally and physically?

IGA SWIATEK: Hard to look at it from this kind of perspective because I'm really just trying to think about the next match, step by step. The whole campaign is just made of these little steps that I'm focusing on.

Yeah, I mean, the first match is always good to just experience it and feel the court, feel the conditions. I know that there will be different matches with different opponents. It's not like I played great today, so I'm taking for granted that I'm going to play great for the rest of the tournament. I need to be ready for every match.

But for sure it's good to have the experience and take positive energy from a win.

Q. When you're looking ahead to a schedule for the year, what enters your mind? Do you think about chasing records? Is that extra pressure you could do without? What is your ultimate aim with your career?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, when I look at the schedule, I think we're playing too much, and the schedule is crazy. That's the first thing probably that will pop to my head. That's why I try to split the year for swings and just focus on the next swing.

After a four-week pre-season, eight days of vacation, if I would look at the end of December and think I'm going to need to play for 11 months on the top of my game, I think that would be overwhelming. It's better to just really take it step by step because the schedule is really demanding and tough.

And the goal? I mean, I kind of achieved more than I ever thought anyway. I'm really just trying to develop as a player and learn new skills, just focus on improving the parts of my game that I feel need improvement.

The wins and the records don't really speak to me in terms of the motivation.