Iga Świątek is closing out 2025 in Shenzhen, China, but her eyes are already locked on next year. As she prepares for the inaugural World Tennis Continental Cup this weekend, the Polish star opened up about her chase for the World No. 1 ranking. Her message to the tour? She wants the top spot back, but she isn’t letting it dictate her process.
How Is Iga Świątek Approaching the World No. 1 Race?
Świątek enters this exhibition fresh off another dominant campaign. She finished the 2025 season ranked No. 2 for the second straight year, posting a 62-17 record. Her trophy cabinet grew, too, with victories at the Cincinnati Open, the Korea Open, and a massive triumph at the Wimbledon Championships. That performance put her in elite company, making her the first player since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport to log four consecutive seasons with more than 60 wins.
Now, as she gears up for action in China, the Warsaw native addressed the rankings battle. While reclaiming the top spot remains a target, she insisted it won’t distract her from preparation. Świątek emphasized that the long tennis calendar demands a flexible approach rather than rigid planning.
Iga at the press conference ahead of today’s matches 🙂#wtcc #swiatek pic.twitter.com/5uDJLiCvVV
— Lukasinho (@LukasFCB321) December 26, 2025
She mentioned, “I mean, everybody wants to be number one, so obviously it would be great, but I’m more focussing on my day-by-day work and now, you know, I’ve been doing pre-season, so I got my mind busy with working on some technical stuff, and yeah, I think if I focus on the process, the good results will come after so I don’t have any specific goal for one tournament, because the season is like 11 months long, you never know actually when you’re going to peak.
What Are Świątek’s Goals for the Australian Open?
With the new season approaching, Świątek is looking toward Melbourne. She explained, “So I’m going to really take it step by step, just tournament by tournament, and we’re now focused more on Australian Open swing, and yeah, the goal is to play well everywhere.”
Looking back at 2025, she acknowledged that maintaining her high level wasn’t easy. “I had some challenges this year that really were kind of new, and I needed to adjust them a little bit more… It was a tricky season, but at the end, I can say a good one.” (via the Australian Open)
For now, fans can catch her representing Team Europe in Shenzhen. She is set to face top competition, including WTA Finals standout Elena Rybakina and Wang Xinyu.