“Men are more physically strong”: Iga Swiatek doubts feasibility of five-set matches in WTA

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek arrived at Indian Wells acknowledging that the opening months of the 2026 season have not fully met her expectations. The Polish star, who has dominated large stretches of the WTA Tour in recent years, said the results across the early tournaments have been inconsistent, with several runs ending earlier than expected, rather than progressing deeper.

Swiatek began the year by representing Poland at the United Cup before continuing to the Australian Open swing. While the team event concluded successfully for Poland, her individual results since then have not matched the level that carried her to multiple major titles and a long stay at the top of the rankings.

The 24-year-old explained that the opening stretch of the calendar has been demanding, with the combination of team competition and the first Grand Slam placing immediate pressure on players.

Despite those circumstances, she said the early losses have given her an opportunity to reassess aspects of her game ahead of the upcoming tournaments. “The results haven't been what I would wish for, because most of the tournaments I lost somewhere around quarterfinals, so it would be great to improve that,” mentioned Swiatek during her press conference at Indian Wells. “But obviously it's tennis, so there are many factors coming in and influencing that.”

Swiatek’s campaign in Melbourne followed an intense opening to the season that began with the United Cup, where Poland lifted the trophy. At the Australian Open she suffered a defeat to Elena Rybakina, who eventually went on to win the title. Swiatek noted that she has often found herself in similar situations at Melbourne Park, losing to players who ultimately go deep in the tournament.

“We won United Cup, which is amazing, and then AO, you know, it's a Slam, so it's a tough tournament with many things happening,” the six-time Grand Slam champion said. “I lost against Elena. She won the tournament. Then Doha tournament was kind of weird in terms of my level. I played sometimes really great, but then couldn't hold that till the end of the match.”

Despite the mixed results, Swiatek indicated that her training period after withdrawing from Dubai allowed her to address several technical and tactical areas. She said the practices in Warsaw were productive and helped her refine aspects of her game ahead of the next tournaments on the WTA calendar.

Looking ahead, the Polish player emphasised that the early setbacks have not fundamentally changed her outlook. Instead, she intends to lower external expectations while focusing on steady improvement through daily work with her team. “It hasn't been perfect, so I'm not putting too much pressure on myself, and I feel like I can really lower the expectations and just focus on the work and see how it's going to go.”

The Polish player is still waiting to learn her opponent for the opening round, where she will face the winner between Francesca Jones (No. 93) and qualifier Kaya Day (No. 187). A potential third round could see her face Maria Sakkari (32nd seed) — the very player who surprisingly eliminated her in Doha.

During the press conference, Swiatek also addressed a proposal suggested by new USTA chief Craig Tiley regarding the possibility of introducing best-of-five-set matches for women in the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments. The idea has occasionally surfaced in discussions about format changes aimed at increasing match length and television value.

“I think honestly it's a weird approach in the world where everything is becoming faster. Also, I don't know if we would be able to keep the quality for five sets. That's a fact — men are more physically strong and they can handle it for sure better.”

Swiatek added that introducing five-set matches would likely reshape the structure of the season. Grand Slam tournaments are already among the most physically demanding events on the calendar, and extending match length could complicate preparation for other competitions.

“We have never practiced in a way to prepare for that, so we would need to change, I think, our whole calendar, because the Grand Slams would be so tough that I don't think we would have honestly time to prepare for any other tournaments,” she stated. “I think it would change a lot. I don't think it would change anything for good. I don't know what's the reason, honestly, for this.”