Coco Gauff seems to be coming to the Australian Open 2026 in strong form despite a small dip. The same cannot be said about Iga Swiatek.
von Jens Huiber
last edited: January 10, 2026, 6:04 p.m
© Getty Images
For a few moments, Wim Fissette and the entire bench of the Polish team at the 2026 United Cup in Sydney may have believed in Iga Swiatek’s comeback after all. After taking a clear lead in the second set, Coco Gauff made moves to bring excitement to a game that had long since ended. In the end it was 6:4 and 6:2 for Gauff in this “must-win match”, which, due to the victory of Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa in the doubles, did not justify another entry into the final for the USA.
Nevertheless: Apart from her slip-up against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Coco Gauff can continue to travel to the Australian Open, which begins next Sunday in Melbourne, very confidently. Because there was also a convincing success against Maria Sakkari, and against Solana Sierra anyway. That looks very neat, especially since the large service and forehand construction sites were largely closed as part of the United Cup.
Bencic has been flawless so far
Iga Świątek, on the other hand, seems a little out of round. This could already be seen in the encounter with Eva Lys, in which the German obviously played very well. But Swiatek knew how to use the entire width of the stadium. Especially outside the lines of the field.
It can now be assumed that Aryna Sabalenka, who has so far been traveling safely in Brisbane, will be the big favorite at the first major of the year. And the impressions from the United Cup suggest that Coco Gauff rather than Iga Swiatek could pose a threat to the industry leader.
Or maybe Belinda Bencic? So far, the Swiss has not let anything go wrong in singles. When the woman was in need, then Bencic, together with Jakob Paul, also scored the decisive points in doubles. However: Bencic has never made it further than the semi-finals of a major.
Sabalenka also saw the other suspects up close in Brisbane: But the introductions of Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula won’t exactly have given the Belarusian a worry line on her forehead.
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Sabalenka Aryna
Cori Gauff
