Iga Swiatek explains why she was getting 'frustrated' in the first set of her with Elena Rybakina at the United Cup

Iga Swiatek commented on her change in mindset against Elena Rybakina at the United Cup.

The WTA Tour’s two best players from Poland and Kazakhstan did battle in the semi-finals of the team tournament and it did not disappoint.

The World number two was aiming to guide her country to their second successive United Cup final, while Kazakhstan tried to reach their first final.

Furthermore, both players were undefeated at the 2025 United Cup ahead of their seventh head-to-head contest, so something had to give.

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What left Iga Swiatek ‘frustrated’ against Elena Rybakina at the United Cup?

Iga Swiatek had lost four of six previous meetings against Elena Rybakina.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner is one of few players who cause the 23-year-old problems on a regular basis and she was doing just that in the early stages of their United Cup contest.

Rybakina opened up a 5-3 lead in the first set, but Swiatek clawed it back to 5-5 before snatching set one via a tiebreak.

Swiatek took control of the second set by breaking Rybakina at love for a 4-3 lead, and went on to complete a 7-6 6-4 victory. Post-match the Pole described what she was finding difficult to deal with before sealing victory.

“Well, in the first set, I felt like I’m not doing enough and I’m not working as hard as I should. I felt like I could do more with my legs and go lower and be more intense.,” she told reporters.

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“Then in the second set at the beginning, well, I felt like I had two chances to break on first two games, and I just wanted to do that.

“I got frustrated by that a little bit, but obviously you can’t go on your service game and think still about the previous games, so I just tried to reset.”

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Iga Swiatek wins continues unbeaten record at 2025 United Cup

Swiatek endured a tough ending to 2024 but she has commenced the 2025 season in impressive fashion.

The World number two is aiming to build some momentum ahead of the Australian Open, a Grand Slam she has yet to win and beating one of the world’s best in a tight match will certainly help.

“I think that’s the first time I was able to win with Elena on a faster surface, so it means a lot,” Swiatek said. “I for sure didn’t start well, I felt like I [was] on the hand-brake a bit.

“I wanted to really work and change the momentum, and I’m happy that I kind of did that at the last possible chance in the first set.

“I kind of told myself that I’m not going to miss anymore, and I’m happy because for sure it was tough. It’s always tough against Elena.”

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