"It will motivate me even more": Iga Swiatek named BJK Cup Heart Award winner following dominant play-offs run

Iga Swiatek has been named the Billie Jean King Cup Heart Award winner following her notable performances in the play-offs held a few weeks ago. The six-time major champion led her country to a perfect campaign, topping their group against Romania and New Zealand.

After the tournament held its Finals in Shenzhen in September—with Italy emerging as champions for the second consecutive year—the Poles, having been eliminated in the qualifiers, competed in the play-offs a couple of months later. They successfully secured their spot back in the Qualifiers, set to take place in April 2026.

The stage featured 21 nations divided into seven groups of three, played in a round-robin format hosted by one of the nations in each group. The Polish team hosted the event in Gorzow Wielkopolski on indoor hard courts and secured six consecutive victories to clear the group stage with a 6-0 match record (12-0 in sets).

Swiatek was ruthless in her performances, dropping just three games across her two matches. On the first day, she defeated New Zealander Elyse Tse 6-0, 6-1, securing the second point for the Poles against the Oceania nation. Two days later, she defeated Gabriela Lee 6-2, 6-0, booking Poland's spot in the Qualifiers and eliminating Romania.

Swiatek led a squad that also included Katarzyna Kawa and Linda Klimovicova (both playing one singles and one doubles match) and Martyna Kubka—the specialist who featured as the doubles player in both ties for the European team.

Swiatek's performances in the Billie Jean King Cup have once again put Poland a step closer to fighting for qualification to the Finals in Shenzhen. The Polish team joins nations like Canada, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic in qualifying from the play-offs—all teams that had been eliminated prior to the 2025 Finals.

Swiatek's performances earned her the BJK Cup Heart Award, which honors the best individual performance by a player during a specific stage of the tournament events. Swiatek received 70% of the public vote thanks to her two singles performances, which were crucial in securing Poland's qualification.

The award also includes a $3,000 cash prize, which the player can donate to a charity of their choice. Swiatek opted for the Polish foundation Fundacja Smeczem w Raka (Smash Cancer), which promotes health at every stage of life through physical activity, including tennis, raises awareness of cancer, and provides both financial and psychological support to tennis professionals and their families facing cancer.

“I want to thank everybody for voting for me so I could receive the Billie Jean King Cup Heart Award. I'm really grateful and it will motivate me even more,” the six-time Grand Slam champion commented in a video released on social media. “The prize for the award will go to Smeczem w Raka Foundation. It's a really important cause and hopefully many more people will contribute.”

The next challenge for Poland and Swiatek in the BJK Cup will be the Qualifiers in April, where the seven teams that survived the play-offs will face seven teams that competed in the 2025 Finals (considering that the Finals hosts, China, are automatically qualified via wildcard as the host nation).

This means that potential opponents in the ties include defending champions Italy (led by Jasmine Paolini), the United States (Coco Gauff), and Kazakhstan (Elena Rybakina).