Iga Świątek claimed her sixth Grand Slam with a first Wimbledon triumph in July, overcoming a challenging clay-court season marked by unexpected losses. She finished 2025 ranked world No. 2, a feat she proudly embraces. For a player who has conquered Paris, London, and New York, what’s the mental block in Melbourne? The final piece of the career Grand Slam puzzle often weighs heaviest, but for Iga Świątek, the strategy is to ignore the picture on the box entirely.

In a recent interview with CLAY, she shared her thoughts on the pursuit of a career Grand Slam.

“I don’t set goals like that. Obviously, it’s something that I dream of and something that I want to happen one day, but I’m not going to come to Melbourne and think about it every day.”

Świątek emphasised the importance of focusing on the process rather than the outcome.

“I know that there’s seven matches to win and the Grand Slams are two weeks, a lot can happen. So, I’m really going to just take it step by step. Just focusing on the pre-season well is the key, and then I’ll see. But for sure, it would be a dream come true.”

Even during Wimbledon this year, Świątek displayed the same mentality. She delivered an impressive performance against Belinda Bencic to secure her spot in the final. Later, when asked about joining the exclusive circle of players who have won a Grand Slam on all surfaces, she replied.

“It wasn’t really a goal because I never thought it would be possible. As I said after my last match, I’m not the type to set goals like that. I take it tournament by tournament.”

Świątek also explained her approach to yearly planning.

“I don’t wake up thinking, ‘Okay, I’m going to win three Grand Slams this year.’ That’s not how I operate. I have more down-to-earth goals, I train day by day. It’s always worked for me. I’d say I’ve never had goals like that.”

Earlier this year, she lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open semifinals, despite having a match point against the eventual champion. Świątek has now won six Grand Slams in total, including four Roland Garros titles, one US Open, and one Wimbledon.

The only Grand Slam missing from her collection is the Australian Open. If she wins there, she will become just the eighth woman in the Open Era to complete a Career Grand Slam. 

Her best result in Melbourne remains the semifinals, achieved in both 2022 and 2025.

Although she is trying not to obsess over the Career Grand Slam, it will likely remain a frequent topic of conversation during the Australian swing. Świątek plans to focus on her preparation and take each tournament step by step.

However, before the Australian Open, she will play at the 2026 United Cup alongside Hubert Hurkacz, Daniel Michalski, Jan Zielinski, Katarzyna Kawa, and Katarzyna Piter. 

And in the same interview with Simon Cambers, she has also shared her thoughts on how women’s tennis has evolved recently, highlighting changes in the game that require adaptability and focus.

Iga Świątek discusses recent changes in the women’s tennis game

Although Iga Świątek finished the 2025 season as world No. 2, she hit a low point earlier in the year. In June, she fell to No. 8, her lowest ranking in three years. After that, she made significant improvements to her serve, helping her climb back up the rankings.

Reflecting on her season, Swiątek spoke about how women’s tennis has changed in recent years. She acknowledged that she still has work to do to match her rivals’ serves. 

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“I think finishing as number two is a great achievement,” she said. “I think the level we’re all at got more equal. I think you could see that, especially during the WTA finals, basically, any of us could win this tournament, we really played a lot of tight matches.”

She added that players have different strengths depending on conditions and timing, but the overall standard is rising quickly. “There are some players that obviously prefer some conditions or others who feel better in this or that part of the season…but I think overall we all are getting better in a really fast way,” she said.

Swiątek also discussed the evolution of serving speed.

“If I would serve, like, 185 kilometres per hour three years ago, I think it would be a game changer, and it would be amazing, but now (that) I actually learned to do that, I realised that girls are serving 195. It’s obviously not only about the speed. It is just an example, but I think tennis is evolving and we’re all presenting a pretty good level now.”

Looking ahead, Swiątek will first compete in an exhibition in Shenzhen, China, from December 26-28. With the Australian Open approaching, she will aim to capture the trophy for the first time in her career, completing the only Grand Slam missing from her collection.