As the 2026 Australian Open begins, fans are eyeing one of the biggest ongoing rivalries in women’s tennis- Iga Świątek vs. Coco Gauff. Świątek still leads their overall head-to-head 11–5 after 16 matches and dominated their early meetings, winning 11 of the first 12. But recently, Gauff has turned things around, winning their last four encounters.
Iga Świątek Shrugs Off Recent Losses Against Coco Gauff
Gauff vs. Świątek has shifted momentum in recent clashes, and even pros feel there is animosity between the two players. Now, after moving into the second round at the Australian Open, the Polish star was asked if the recent back-to-back losses against the American were on her mind, and her reply showed a different approach rather than concern about statistics.
During her post-match press conference, Świątek said, “Honestly it doesn’t. When I was winning against her it didn’t. That’s why I guess it was possible for me to continue. Because I wasn’t taking it for granted or coming to a match unfocused.”
Instead of seeing the recent losses as a worrying pattern, Świątek feels they are part of how top-level tennis works. She also said that head-to-head records don’t matter much. What matters is the current form, conditions, and how players continue to improve.
“Maybe for her if you ask the same question it’s different. But I just really want to treat every match as a separate story. Every match is also in different conditions,” she said.
Świątek also explained that past results can be misleading. “There’s no point to like always come back and, last time we played it was Madrid. It was over 6 months. It’s kind of long in tennis life. It’s not a whole story for me. It’s more about how I feel that month or that week and how she feels and how we’re gonna play against each other,” the World No. 2 said.
Gauff’s Different Take on Head-to-Head Record Against Świątek
While Świątek says she doesn’t pay much attention to the stats, Gauff recently said their early head-to-head affected her confidence. From May 2021 to June 2023, Gauff played Świątek seven times and lost all seven matches in straight sets.
That changed in the summer of 2023, when Gauff finally got her win at home in Cincinnati, beating Świątek 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4. That victory proved to be a turning point for her.
“In the past, there weren’t many head-to-heads that bothered me, except that one,” Gauff said after her first-round Australian Open win over Kamilla Rakhimova.
“Obviously, she’s (Świątek) a great player, and she deserved those wins, but I felt like some of those losses, I won’t say a lot, because she just outplayed me, but some of them, at least at the beginning, it just was already on the mental deficit. I think once I erased that mental deficit, I was able to play free.”
MORE: Iga Świątek Matches Erased From Coco Gauff’s Mind as Secret to Rivalry Shift Comes Out
Although Świątek regained the upper hand after Cincinnati for a short while, the rivalry again shifted after late 2024. Gauff has now won their last four matches in a row, including a strong 6-4, 6-2 win at the recent United Cup. She now has five wins from their 16 meetings against the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Now, as both players are placed on opposite sides of the Australian Open draw, they can only meet in the final.
