Iga Swiatek shared her thoughts on the “toughest thing” in tennis after leading Team Poland to the final of the 2025 United Cup. Poland secured their spot in the championship match with a victory over Team Kazakhstan.
On Day 9 of the international hard-court tennis tournament featuring mixed-gender teams from 18 countries, Swiatek secured a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz also delivered a strong performance, defeating Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-2. The Polish mixed doubles team of Maja Chwalinska and Jan Zielinski wrapped up with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kazakhstan’s Shevchenko and Zhibek Kulambayeva.
During a post-match interview, Iga Swiatek shared her thoughts on how she managed to improve her backhand speed. She explained that while tighter strings played a role, the real challenge was focusing on one thing at a time.
Oh my God, it’s not easy! I think this is the toughest thing in this sport. But you know, I just thought, ‘I have nothing to lose.'” (1:34 onwards).
She added:
“And yeah, the strings helped for sure. But I think even with lower tension, it was more about me—not getting the right spin or speeding up my hand. So, I just tried to think about the details and not overthink anything—just think about one point at a time.
