The Australian Open remains the lone gap in Iga Swiatek’s trophy cabinet. With two semifinal appearances at Melbourne Park, she arrives this year with a career Grand Slam in sight. But the newly released draw suggests a tough road ahead, and discussing it didn’t appear to be something Swiatek welcomed.

At her pre‑tournament press conference, a correspondent inquired Swiatek about the challenge that could pit her against Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka. According to the draw, she’d meet Rybakina in the quarterfinals and Osaka in the final. When asked if she had tweaked her “strategy or preparation” to face them, Iga chose to keep her response lighthearted but pointed.

“I’m not looking at the draw, so thanks for the heads up,” Iga Swiatek said, quickly clearing it up, “No, it’s a joke. But I’m literally not doing that. So, please don’t spoil it for me. I wanna be surprised after every match.”

To answer the main question, she added, “No, because I didn’t know. That’s it.”

To start off, Iga will face qualifier Yue Yuan in her opening match on Monday. Beyond that, she’s keeping things simple, just going with the flow for the next two weeks, rather than focusing on her draw.

Last year’s semifinal loss to Madison Keys still stings. That tense three‑set battle, 7‑5, 1‑6, 6‑7, halted her charge just short of new ground on Rod Laver Arena. Before that, in her maiden Australian Open semifinal, she fell to Danielle Collins 4‑6, 1‑6. Now, she’s determined to stay composed, shut out the pressure, and trust her game to carry her through.

Not to mention, she faced late‑season stumbles last year, including back‑to‑back defeats to Rybakina and Anisimova at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Marking her first consecutive losses since 2021.

When it comes to facing Elena again in the draw, it may be tricky. But she currently holds the lead against her in their H2H at 6-5. And while she hasn’t faced Naomi Osaka since the 2024 French Open, where she won the R2 battle, the Japanese star has been improving her game. Making the draw a tough call.

Now, this month’s 36 unforced errors against Bencic’s 10 proved she needed a mental and physical reset. But at the United Cup earlier this week, the World No.2 looked calm and ready.

She added, “We’re going to work now to improve some elements that didn’t work this week. Still, not a lot of time for that if I also want to have some recovery days. This is how tennis is. You got to go with the flow. We’ll see.”

Right now, Iga stands on the edge of history. A milestone waits. Records are within reach. It’s been nearly fourteen years since Maria Sharapova conquered Roland Garros to complete her Career Slam, and more than two decades since Serena Williams sealed hers in Melbourne.

Now, Swiatek has that same shot. But as the spotlight grows brighter, can she keep the weight of expectation from pressing down on her?

Iga Swiatek talks about winning the Career Slam

Right now, she stands alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as the only active players with wins at three of the four majors. But if you ask Iga, that’s not where her focus lies. Although she doesn’t hesitate to call out everyone else for asking her about it.

“I think you guys are thinking more about it,” she said. “Since the beginning of the year, there are many people coming to me and talking to me about it. I’m really just focusing on, like, day-by-day work. This is how it’s always been for me. This is how I actually was able to achieve the success that I already have, just focusing really on grinding, match by match.”

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The world number two already owns four Roland Garros crowns, a US Open, and a Wimbledon title. Yet, a Melbourne triumph still escapes her. She admits that winning a Slam is “tough” and begins her campaign without heavy expectations of what her draw looks like.

As she mentioned, for now, she’s staying open to surprises. A win over Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue could set up a clash with Marie Bouzkova or Renata Zarazua. From there, it’s only uphill. Will Iga Swiatek conquer it and win her first Melbourne title?