The fourth edition of the United Cup will once again feature the highly anticipated clash between the United States and Poland, as the latter has secured its semifinal spot by surpassing Australia. WTA star Iga Świątek, who headlines Team Poland with Hubert Hurkacz, has recently revealed what her mindset and preparation plans will be for facing the World No. 4.
Iga Świątek Shares Her Battle Plans for Facing Coco Gauff a Year Later
The World No. 2 made her debut at the United Cup in 2023, leading her team to the semifinal stage alongside Hurkacz, a former World No. 6. The following year, Team Poland lost the final to Germany, with Świątek delivering a winning streak and taking home the MVP Award of the event.
Poland repeated their excellence in 2025, but once again their title run was cut short by the United States, who defeated them 2-0. Świątek had continued her dominance in the mixed-gender tournament by winning all five of her matches and losing only a single game to Gauff in the final, 6-4, 6-4.
In their quarterfinal match against Australia, the Warsaw native overpowered the 19-year-old Maya Joint, 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour. In the men’s singles, Alex de Minaur gave a notable performance to take the win from Hurkacz with 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The victory ultimately depended on the mixed doubles, as Poland was revived by Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa’s win against John-Patrick Smith and Storm Hunter.
During the post-match press conference, the Polish sensation revealed how she will be preparing her mind to face Gauff, against whom she leads their WTA head-to-head with 11-4. She added, “Well, honestly, I had no idea we were playing U.S. I just got to know actually when I saw we had mixed doubles under control. I’m going to prepare the plan tomorrow. For sure it’s a good match, like exciting for the fans, I think. But I’ll focus on my singles. Obviously we know each other’s game pretty well with Coco.”
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She continued highlighting that she will be hoping to execute her plans and to remain steadfast in her them, “The key for me will be just to focus on myself, try to implement the stuff that I worked on during the pre-season, and be brave with the decisions. Yeah, we’ll see.” Their last WTA Tour clash was at the Madrid Mutua Open, where Gauff claimed the victory by 6-1, 6-1.
The United Cup semifinals between the US and Poland will take place in Sydney at the Ken Rosewall Arena on January 10, with the other semifinal set to be between Switzerland and Belgium.
