AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2026

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/M. Inglis

6-0, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Iga, back into the quarterfinals. Can you give us an overview of your match today and your performance?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, yeah, I think it was a good match, and from the beginning I felt quite confident. So I was just, yeah, playing my game. That's it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. This isn't, like, specifically related to the match. Over the years you've talked about how you like playing against spin. As a player who hits with a lot of spin, what do you like about facing spin?

IGA SWIATEK: I guess, I don't know, I just always felt that since I'm playing like that, I understand their game a bit better. Also, I don't know, I just feel like tennis makes more sense when players, like, build the rally more. I don't know.

I guess also, like, this is what is different with men's tennis and women's tennis, that guys play longer rallies. Sometimes in women's tennis it's just one shot, and that's it.

Yeah, I don't know, it's just how I've been raised. Also, most of tennis that I watched was Rafa, so I also enjoy watching it as well, so yeah. I don't know.

Q. The men and women have in common at this tournament is consistency at the top. What do you make of that consistency right now at the top of the game on both sides?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I don't have any complicated thoughts about that. It's just nice that, I don't know, fans have consistency in terms of cheering for the players they like, because usually the players that are in the top 100 rankings, they have more fan base. I guess that's nice for tennis in this case.

But there will be different tournament, different slams. Yeah, I don't really look at that anyway.

Q. How are you feeling for the Rybakina match? The head-to-head record is even between the two of you.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I wouldn't say head-to-head matters, because even when one of us was winning, it was always, I don't know, a tight match or she beat me easy (smiling). Doesn't matter. Doesn't make sense to overanalyze who won the last ones or how it has been looking. Every match is a different story.

Like on every match she's been a tough opponent, and her tennis for sure is great. I need to be 100% ready and go for it and use my experience and also the knowledge from previous matches, and that's it.

Q. Given what you've achieved in the sport, at what point when you were younger did you realize you were special and you had the talent to do things like that?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, maybe I felt I had potential when I was at my first junior Grand Slam and I did a good result. It was Roland Garros. I was, like, 15 I think.

No, it was a time where I more, like, kind of believed, and I realized that, okay, I want to do this, and I want to do everything to, like, be a pro later on and also come to Grand Slams, because I just loved the Grand Slam. It was such a different vibe than any other place I've been in my life.

But I've never really thought that it may be possible for me to win as many tournaments as I did and to be No. 1. Maybe it's not a colorful story for a Netflix show, because I was always a realist. But it didn't change the fact that I just worked day by day, and I was playing great, so I was there and still am. It happened, and I'm proud of that.

Honestly, because for me No. 1 happened so quickly. I was No. 2 for a week, I think, or two weeks, and then Ash retired. So for me it was more about later on proving that I deserved it. It wasn't the thought that I woke up with every day, because I was just working, and it felt abstract.

Q. You obviously went to Grand Slams as a junior. I don't know how much you're able to go around the grounds at Grand Slams anymore now that you're big, famous, and popular. Have you noticed the vibes changing at all in Grand Slams regarding the crowds? Are things feeling too crowded or it's hard to get into courts?

IGA SWIATEK: I can't really go outside. I would love to. I only do, honestly, on Roland Garros, because I know I can sneak around sometimes a bit, because I know the venue better. I know the places.

Yeah, I mean, here when we're eating, we have a view on this main place with the screens where people watch. For sure, it seems super busy there. There are queues to the stores and everything.

But I don't even remember how it was before. I also played most of my Grand Slams at the beginning in COVID. I have no comparison how it looked before, like, 2019.

Q. When you're at Roland Garros walking around the grounds, do you go incognito?

IGA SWIATEK: It's not like I walk for two hours. I can just go from place to place, and I'll be fine, because I know exactly where to go, and I'll be fast.

Or I can, like, for example, in European tournaments, my friends or family are coming sometimes, so sometimes some of them don't have access to the player area, so I can also meet them for five minutes. But it's not like I'm walking around and watching matches, you know.

Q. One of the weird parts of your job is at the end of your match when you win, someone gives you a pen and asks you to sign the camera. You hesitated today.

IGA SWIATEK: My mind is blank, every time.

Q. How hard is it to think about what to write there?

IGA SWIATEK: I think I need to think about it before and make a list just to have some nice jokes or phrases, because my mind is like, I have no thoughts.

After the match, like, I don't know, I'm thinking about the match, boring stuff, or thinking about the next one. I'm still thinking about tennis, so it's hard to suddenly switch and write something funny.

If someone is so witty, I have huge respect (smiling).

Q. You mentioned on the court you played quite a few night sessions here. Is it difficult to get up in the morning and anticipate until 7 in the evening every day?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's not like I'm anticipating anymore, because it would just be a waste of energy. I'm kind of thinking about the match in second part of the day.

But obviously it is in the back of your mind. For sure it's more energy-consuming than, like, playing early on and then having basically two days off or one and a half days off instead of just one.

I'm fine with both. Like, I have my routines. I know what to do. I still try to enjoy my time before the match, not be, like, stuck and thinking about the match, because that's what happened, like, at the early stages of my career. Honestly, I played so many matches that it wasn't working anymore. I'm just trying to keep it chill.