2025 was not the most dominant season Iga SwiatekHis career, however, was very good (62-15 with three titles so far). The Polish star, who reached an emotional summit in July when she won her sixth major title at Wimbledon, spoke about her campaign ahead of this year’s WTA Finals in Riyadh.
She looked very much like a player at peace with her game and her progress, with an eye on bigger and maybe even better achievements down the road.
“It was probably the season with the most ups and downs both in terms of results and sometimes how I felt playing the tournament,” she said. “But I think I’ve learned a lot. Even though I’m already an experienced player, I had some challenges this year that were really new and I had to adapt a little bit more to them.
“I think it was the first year where I didn’t feel like I was still young. So it was a different feeling, too. But overall, I think winning Wimbledon made this season already super special and amazing, and it just topped everything else I would say, and then playing great in Cincinnati and winning it as well.”
“It was a complicated season, but in the end, I can say it was a good season.”
Swiatek kicked off her WTA Finals campaign with another impressive performance on Saturday as she cruised past 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2.
She is bidding for her second title at the tour’s season-ending championships after going a perfect 5-0 in 2023 to win the title.
The years blend together
Asked about the fact that she is the youngest player to qualify for the WTA Finals in five consecutive seasons in more than a decade, Swiatek spoke about her age versus her perceived age.
“I feel like I’m 40 already,” she said with a laugh. “No, but like, seriously, of course, life on tour is intense and all the seasons are super intense. So it’s easy to forget how young I am, too, because I feel like I’ve only been on tour for about 10 years. Actually, it’s been six, but it’s just been really busy and also efficient. So that’s something I’m happy about.
“I’m still young, so there’s a lot to change and improve in my game, and it’s always good to get that perspective at the end, especially before the pre-season or before certain periods of time when you have a little more (time) to practice.”
Blair Henley asked Swaitek to review some of the technical advances she made to her game in 2025. Turns out there were some big ones.
“I think technically for sure, the way I played on the faster surfaces and the way I handle the sometimes faster balls, which were a problem for me in previous seasons, that was something I felt completely improved,” she said. “Also service speed.. I was fifth or something in aces this season. I’d like my percentage to always be consistent, so that’s the next goal. But now I know I can serve those speeds and also serve a lot of aces, and get some free points, so I think those two things went really well. And honestly, that was my goal.”
