During her post-match press conference at the ongoing Australian Open, Coco Gauff opened up to discuss one of the toughest parts of her career. When a reporter asked about her head-to-head against Iga Świątek, the American talked openly about the mental struggles that had been holding her back. Her response gave a real look at how top players push through difficult mental blocks and turn things around in their favour.
Coco Gauff’s Remarkable Turnaround Against Iga Świątek
Świątek dominated Gauff with an 11-1 lead til November 2024, making it seem like she had the American’s playstyle figured out. But over the last year and a half, Gauff has turned things around completely by winning four straight matches, that too without dropping a single set.
Their head-to-head record now stands at 11-5 in Świątek’s favor, which is due to Gauff being the first player ever to beat the Pole in straight sets on four successive occasions. Notably, Jelena Ostapenko, who has a 6-0 head-to-head record against Świątek, hasn’t won that many withhout dropping a set.
During her Australian Open press conference following her first-round victory over Kamilla Rakhimova, Gauff was asked directly about how she managed to turn her losing record around. The American opened up about the mental struggle she faced in those early matchups with Świątek.
“There was no other head-to-head I felt really bad about except for that one. In the past, I used to think about it so much because you just wanna get the one win. Once I got that, I kind of erased the other matches,” she explained.
The 21-year-old gave credit to Świątek while being honest about those early losses, saying: “Obviously, she’s a great player, and she deserved those wins. But I felt like some of those losses, because she just outplayed me, but some of them, at least in the beginning, it was already in a mental deficit.”
Getting past that mental block was the key to winning for Gauff as she said: “Once I erased that mental deficit, I was able to play free. There was like no other head-to-head in tennis where I had that, so it was very difficult to navigate. Now I feel like I’m able to play free.”
Gauff also dropped a message for her future matchups against the Pole, saying: “Obviously, it’s still a big gap in the head-to-head. But I just erase it from my mind. Can’t change the past. I learn from it. I’ll know how it’ll end by the end of our careers. But at least I know the future matches I won’t see starting like that, with a mental deficit.”
Coco Gauff was asked about how she turned her head-to-head record with Iga Swiatek around, ‘Once I erased that mental deficit I was able to play free’
“You’ve managed to turn your head to head around with Iga. You’ve won the last 4 without dropping a set. How much does that play… pic.twitter.com/peAy4zFxrX
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 19, 2026
Gauff-Świątek Rivalry Catching Everyone’s Attention
On the Nothing Major podcast, former American players Sam Querrey, John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Jack Sock talked about this rivalry. Querrey started by talking about how intense their matches are before Sock brought up the statistical figures. Querrey used the term “animosity” to describe the “great little rivalry” between the two, even calling it the best and most intriguing matchups on the WTA tour.
Even though there is some tension between Gauff and Świątek, both players have said it’s not personal. After their handshake at the United Cup seemed intense, Gauff talked about what really happened, stating:
“Obviously, we had a moment, but no, we talked about it afterwards, and it was nothing personal,” she said. Świątek has shown respect for Gauff as well, notably congratulating her on Instagram after she won the French Open last year.
Świątek still leads 11-5 in their head-to-head after 16 matches, but Gauff is on a four-match winning streak heading into Melbourne. With both players competing in the Australian Open as two of the top-three seeds, this rivalry promises to produce more high-quality matches in the near future.
