CHINA OPEN

October 5, 2026

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/D. Vekic

4-6, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Iga, congratulations. Strong comeback today. Can you talk to us through what you changed in your game to switch it over.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, for sure I was in a bad position score-wise, didn't really know after the first set what to change to play better.

Later on in the second set I was playing more brave and more aggressive, changing more down the line. At the end I think it's what changed the rhythm of the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Last time you said you received a 3-D printer Iga from your fans. It's pindou, made by the hand. Takes a few hours to make. Do you have any thoughts on that?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, it's really great that we can get gifts like that, especially when they're handmade, they come from the heart.

I'm really happy that fans are so creative here and they care so much about tennis because it means a lot. It gives us a boost of energy at the end of the season.

Yeah, really grateful for that, for sure.

Q. The frustrations in the first set, did you feel it was something you hadn't played Donna in a few years, a lot has changed? Do you think it's her game or something...

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I think at some point, I don't know how many points we both had, but I felt like I'm playing good. I felt like we might be even, but maybe she was winning the more important points. I knew I had my opportunities; I should push a little bit more.

I don't think she is a different player than couple years ago. I think she plays the same game style. If she feels the ball good, she's a really dangerous player.

I just needed to go level up because she played really good, used these chances that I didn't use in the first set.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about kind of the mind-body connection in terms of you're down in the scoreline, you said you were playing braver eventually as the course of the match went on, that helped change things. How much of that is you in your head telling yourself to be braver, be braver? Is that what you're telling yourself to get that result or is it faster footwork, hands? What goes on in your head that changes the way you're playing?

IGA SWIATEK: Actually sometimes you can get throughout the match little technical things that will make your game better. I feel like today actually I found something and it kind of clicked.

Like telling yourself be braver, be braver, probably sometimes won't work (smiling). But for sure there's at some point - not every time - a little bit of the feeling you have nothing to lose anymore because you're in such a bad position that probably you're going to lose this match anyway. I don't know, let's try something else. I don't know, let's just play whatever, with your eyes closed, just hit the ball as fast as possible, I don't know, with as much spin as possible. It depends on the match. Sometimes it works.

Sometimes if you care a bit less because you're in that position that you're probably going to lose, it also helps you a bit.

The sport can be weird sometimes, but yeah...

Q. A lot of fans are quite curious about the heart rate belt you wore during the practice. How has it helped you overall?

IGA SWIATEK: It's totally not new. I've been using this heart rate monitor for seven years now.

It's just for my coaches to see the heart rate and analyze how fast I'm recovering after a long rally or how intense the practice was, as well. So it's more for them than for me.

Q. The tiebreak went about as well as possible for you. What was your mentality going into that tiebreak, knowing you could go to a third set?

IGA SWIATEK: I wasn't thinking about the third set. Just thinking about the next point. I felt what started working in my game at the end of the second set, just wanted to not really think that much, but just do that in the tiebreaker.

I'm happy I didn't overanalyze and I just hit the ball good.

Q. I remember there's a famous match that Novak played against Roger Federer at the US Open. Hit this crazy forehand return down match point. He didn't care, decided to smack the heck out of the ball. It turned the match around. When you have the feeling of fatalism about things, do you accept that in those moments? Do you accept, okay, it might not be the day today, or are you still fighting against it in terms of how much is it throwing caution to the wind?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, I mean, I think accepting is actually something that lets you go maybe later on to this better place. This is what makes you actually loosen up and play this crazy shot that actually works.

But honestly sometimes not accepting and, like, fighting through also works. You never know what's a good decision.

I guess if you accept that the score is so bad that you're going to probably lose, it's not the best situation, and it's better to avoid that.

A tennis player I think would do anything to turn things around. I would never call it, like, giving up. You do it kind of consciously to just maybe relax a bit more.

Also being all panicky at the end is also not a good idea. I think Novak did it a little bit on purpose. I also let myself feel that today because I thought maybe this will be better for me.