Ahead of her first match at the 2026 Miami Open, Iga Świątek was visibly frustrated during a practice session. During a recent press conference, the World No. 3 explained the reason for her annoyance during training.
Before the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in Florida, Świątek competed at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. There, she defeated qualifier Kayla Day, 33rd seed Maria Sakkari, and 14th seed Karolína Muchová before losing to eighth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
Iga Świątek Explains Practice Frustrations Ahead of the 2026 Miami Open
The 2026 Miami Open began on March 17 and will run until March 29, 2026. The matches of this WTA 1000 tournament are being held on outdoor hard courts at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Świątek is seeded second and will start her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
While speaking to the press, Świątek mentioned that she found it “tricky” to adjust to the weather change from California to Florida.
MORE: Iga Świątek’s Frustration Shows in Tense Miami Practice After Indian Wells Heartbreak
Additionally, the tournament was forced to postpone matches due to rain on March 18, creating a disruption in practice schedules for top players. However, the Pole managed to fit in two practice sessions, which she described as “great.”
“I came straight here. It has been tricky with the practices because of the weather, but we changed our schedule a bit to manage that. I got two practices for now, which is great, also there has not been much flexibility with the courts because these are the busiest days of the tournament,” Świątek said.
The former Miami Open champion stated that she felt “great” during practice, and her main focus is to adjust quickly to the changing conditions from Indian Wells to Miami.
“So I will try to adjust to the conditions because that’s the most important thing when you switch surfaces, and be ready for the first match. I felt great during practice, but obviously, you do close patterns there, so it’s going to take some adjustments during matches,” she added.
“The Centre Court has not been available, so we are going to see what the surface is going to look like on the Centre Court,” Świątek said.
MORE: Coco Gauff Watches Team USA Blow World Baseball Classic Final After Passionate Support
This year, Świątek will begin her Miami Open campaign by facing fellow Pole Magda Linette in her opening match. Linette advanced to the second round after defeating Varvara Gracheva in three sets on Tuesday.
The two have only met once on the WTA Tour, during the third round of the 2023 China Open, where Świątek secured a 6-1, 6-1 win. The winner of the second-round match between Świątek and Linette in Florida will advance to face either 31st seed Alex Eala or Laura Siegemund in the third round.
