“I’m sorry for saying this, but it can be annoying sometimes”: Swiatek delivers brutally honest take on crowd support

The six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek faced her first major challenge of this year’s Australian Open, dropping a set in her third-round victory over Anna Kalinskaya, which she sealed 6–1, 1–6, 6–1. The world No. 2 advanced to the Round of 16, where she will face local wildcard Maddison Inglis.

It was a day in which Swiatek had to reinvent herself after a forgettable second set, during which she won just 28% of points on serve and 43% on return. Kalinskaya raised her level and put pressure on the Pole, but in the third set Swiatek produced her best tennis to regain control and secure the win. It marked Swiatek’s third consecutive victory at the tournament, having previously defeated Yue Yuan and Marie Bouzkova in straight sets.

“I felt maybe in the second set I dropped the level of my serve, so I wanted to pick my spots in the third set from the beginning and serve more proactively,” the 24-year-old said in press conference when asked about the clash with Kalinskaya. “I didn’t feel that the match with Bouzkova was all about the serve. I feel like I was serving better than in my first round."

"But yeah, with Bouzkova it was about the whole game. Also, we played many long rallies, so I knew that even if I’m not going to win the point with the serve, I can also do that after. Here, with Anna, you need to be proactive in the first two balls, because when she plays fast and puts pressure on you, she plays well."

Swiatek, a player accustomed to winning matches in straight sets, has on several occasions struggled to close out encounters when holding an advantage, or when matches go the distance. The Pole reflected on the difficulty of shifting momentum when an opponent is outperforming her.

“It totally depends on the match. Sometimes you know what you did wrong and you just focus on one thing to improve. You know your game can change, or you know you can go one level up,” the six-time Grand Slam champion said. “Sometimes — like today — I felt like I didn’t do anything wrong in the second set. I just needed to be ready in case she starts missing or plays less aggressive.”

“So I focused on that and I wanted to pick my spots on the serve. The reset wasn’t that hard because it’s not like I was in a bad place in the second set,” she added. “Even though the score was kind of one-sided, I feel like until 4–1 every game could go both ways. So it was kind of unlucky that it just went her way. Maybe she played better at the important points, but we played a good level anyway.”

Without doubt, Swiatek has become one of the crowd favourites around the world in recent years. The former world No. 1 often receives strong support from the stands, although that backing is not always entirely positive, as an overly loud atmosphere can at times become a distraction for players on court.

“It depends how they cheer. If it’s overall cheering and clapping, it’s always nice because you can get a lot of energy,” she explained. “But if you get coaching — which sometimes happens — or, you know, ‘play another race’ or something, then it can be weird, or your focus can be ruined because of that.”

“So I guess it depends how they cheer and also in what place I am mentally, because I can really take a lot of positives from that. But there are days where it can also be annoying. I’m sorry for saying that, but I think every player has that,” the world No. 2 stated. “Tennis is a game where there’s a lot of noise between points and silence during the points. Suddenly, if you hear something, it can really trigger you.”

Swiatek has not yet faced a local player at this year’s Australian Open, but that will change on Sunday when she takes on the home crowd’s last remaining hope in the tournament, qualifier Maddison Inglis.

“It depends on the cheering, it depends on the day, also how I feel. Overall, I really appreciate the support and Polish fans are great. Honestly, in every place in the world, they are there,” Swiatek added. “Even when I play against someone from the country we’re playing in, I feel like it’s always kind of even in terms of the cheers.”

Following her win over Kalinskaya, Swiatek learned that she will face Australian Maddison Inglis in the fourth round. The local player had originally been scheduled to face two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, but the Japanese withdrew from the tournament due to an abdominal injury.

Swiatek has faced Inglis once before, at the Adelaide International in 2021, where the Pole claimed a 6–1, 6–3 victory. “I remember we played, but I don’t remember how the match looked. I thought it was more recent, honestly,” Swiatek said. “So for sure I need to prepare tactically and maybe watch a little bit as well, because it’s not often that I play someone I don’t really know that well. She has a great run, and for sure she didn’t play today, so she’s going to be fresh, and I’ve got to go for it.”