American star Danielle Collins has recently shared her thoughts, reflecting on Iga Świątek’s losses at the mixed-gender United Cup tournament and what they indicate ahead of her major title run at the Australian Open. The Polish sensation is all set to face the former World No. 36 Chinese player in the first round at Melbourne Park.
Danielle Collins Indicates Worry for Iga Świątek As She Suffered Losses Before Her Run at the Australian Open
Świątek returned for the fourth edition of the United Cup after ending her 2025 season as the World No. 2 for the second time. Once again, she joined Hubert Hurkacz and others to lead Team Poland in the tournament, held across the RAC Arena and Ken Rosewall Arena from Jan. 2 to 11.
In her first singles match against Germany’s Eva Lys, the Pole took the win with a final scoreline of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, losing the first set but gaining the upper hand in the last two. Her next duel was against the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens, against whom she won in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, against Maya Joint, Świątek dominated, clinching the win with 6-1, 6-1.
However, in the semifinals, she faced Coco Gauff, losing to her in two sets, 6-4, 6-2, and this defeat was her fourth straight loss to the American. In the final, Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who won the tournament MVP award, overcame the Pole 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, with Poland winning the title.
During her recent appearance on Tennis Channel’s The Big T podcast, Collins, who last played at the 2025 US Open, shared her thoughts on Świątek’s losses and what they mean ahead of her Australian Open goals.
She mentioned while highlighting Bencic and Gauff’s win over the Warsaw native, “There’s certainly trouble in paradise for Iga right now with losing two back-to-back matches, which is a little bit uncharacteristic for the former world number one, right? I mean, we don’t see her lose back-to-back quite often. Bencic played incredibly well.
She further added, “I mean, that match was, like you said, just blueprint tennis of how anyone would want to try to play against Iga. The match against Coco, I mean, Coco playing really well. It’s good news for Coco fans cuz she’s ripping that forehand. There’s been visible improvement off that side, but still not the type of tennis I think Iga is capable of playing in that matchup.”
Furthermore, Collins continued, expressing Świątek’s dominance when she is in her form, “So, yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see going into AO how she’s going to recover mentally from this when she’s focused and feeling good. She’s a number one player in the world.”
In her first round at the Australian Open, Świątek is set to battle against Yuan Yue, who has won one singles and two doubles WTA titles. Their last match was at the 2025 China Open, where Świątek defeated Yue in the round of 64, with a final score of 6-0, 6-3.
