“I had more space in my head”: Iga Swiatek explains what changed after difficult 2026 season

Sunday, 30 August 2026 at 19:00

Iga Swaitek holds the 2026 Canadian Open trophy, her first title of the season.

Iga Swiatek has described 2026 as “probably the toughest one” of her career, but the former world No. 1 arrives at the US Open with a very different feeling after finally finding her best tennis during the North American hard-court swing.

The Polish star spent the first part of the season searching for consistency and went through an unusually long stretch without reaching a final. She also changed coaches before the clay-court season, beginning a new partnership with Frances Roig while having limited time to put their work into practice.

That changed after Wimbledon. Swiatek took time away from competition, returned with a longer training block and then produced a 10-match winning streak that culminated in the Canadian Open title, the 12th WTA 1000 crown of her career. She followed that run by reaching the Cincinnati semifinals.

Now ranked No. 8 in the world, Swiatek believes the improvement has not come from suddenly reinventing her game, but from finally having enough time and mental space to make her new approach feel natural.

“Probably the toughest one”

Swiatek was candid when asked to assess her season ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year, acknowledging just how difficult the transition has been. “For me - for sure - it wasn't an easy season," the 6-time Grand Slam champion said at press conference. "Probably the toughest one and the most challenging. Obviously I had to change coaches before the clay court season, which was a tricky situation,” Swiatek said.

“Then, you know, I started working with Frances and just wanted to implement all the stuff that we did on practices. But on the other hand, also didn't have a lot of that practice time. So probably it calmed down, everything calmed down.”

The turning point came after Wimbledon, when Swiatek was able to step away from the tour and give herself a proper reset. “Like after Wimbledon, I managed to get some days off, reset a little bit, and we had a much longer training block. So it really helped me to, yeah, just implement this stuff that I was talking about,” she explained.

The results were immediate enough to change the tone around her season. Swiatek won 10 matches in a row in Canada before claiming the title and then reached the last four in Cincinnati, showing that she remains capable of producing elite-level tennis on hard courts.

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Even her Cincinnati defeat did little to damage that confidence. “Obviously last two tournaments were super positive," she added. "And even though I lost in Cincy, this match against Jesse was really high level. I watched it yesterday and like, it was fun to watch it even, you know?”

“So I feel happy with my game and with the changes that I've made and just, you know, looking forward now.”

“I had more space in my head”

For Swiatek, the biggest difference may be mental rather than technical. She believes the work with Roig has become increasingly intuitive, leaving her less consumed by the process of changing her game and more capable of reacting naturally during matches.

“I think that in a way, it clicked. Sometimes it's hard to explain everything about the sport, but everything I've been doing with Francis has been more natural for me from the beginning," Iga Swiatek added.

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"I didn't have to think a lot about changing anything, because it came more intuitively and I had more space in my head to devote it to being well-concentrated and to react to different situations that come to the court and solve problems.”

That mental freedom could be particularly important in New York, where Swiatek will look to add a seventh Grand Slam title to her collection. She already knows what it takes to win at Flushing Meadows, having lifted the US Open trophy in 2022.

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The 25-year-old will begin this year's campaign against former junior champion Xiyu Wang, hoping to carry the confidence from her strongest stretch of 2026 into another deep Grand Slam run.

After a season Swiatek herself labelled “probably the toughest one,” the hard-court swing has given her something that had been missing for much of the year: belief that her game and her new methods are finally clicking together.

Cristhián AvilaTennis Journalist

Cristhián Ávila is a tennis journalist based in Santiago, Chile, and has been part of the TennisUpToDate team since early 2023. He covers the ATP and WTA Tours as well as all four Grand Slams, producing breaking news, match reports, analysis, and regular liveblogs from major tournaments.

His reporting combines statistical analysis with clear explanation, helping readers understand tactical developments, player form, and broader storylines across the tour. Working fluently in both Spanish and English, Cristhián collaborates with an international editorial team and contributes to comprehensive global coverage. As part of his work, he has conducted interviews and media interactions with leading figures in the sport, including Caroline Wozniacki and John McEnroe.

In his journalism, Cristhián places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. His coverage is grounded in research, context, and direct engagement with professional tennis.

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