Iga Swiatek keeps winning, but she is not pretending it comes easily. After another efficient Australian Open performance, the world No. 2 spoke less about trophies and more about fatigue, using her Melbourne press conference to underline just how unforgiving the modern tennis calendar has become.
Swiatek brushed aside Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3 in the second round, delivering a controlled display that barely wavered. She struck 31 winners to just three from the Czech and converted five of eight break points, moving calmly into the last 32 without ever losing command of the match.
Bouzkova vs Swiatek – Full Match Stats
| Statistic | Bouzkova | Swiatek |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.68 | 1.47 |
| Winners | 3 | 31 |
| Unforced Errors | 19 | 27 |
| Serve Rating | 188 | 264 |
| Aces | 0 | 3 |
| Double Faults | 4 | 1 |
| 1st Serve % | 62% (31/50) | 63% (38/60) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 45% (14/31) | 71% (27/38) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 47% (9/19) | 50% (9/18) |
| Break Points Saved | 38% (3/8) | 60% (3/5) |
| Ace % | 0% | 5% |
| Double Fault % | 8% | 1.7% |
| Return Rating | 141 | 234 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 29% (11/38) | 55% (17/31) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 50% (9/18) | 53% (10/19) |
| Break Points Won | 40% (2/5) | 63% (5/8) |
| Return Games | 22% (2/9) | 63% (5/8) |
| Pressure Points | 38% (5/13) | 62% (8/13) |
| Service Points | 46% (23/50) | 63% (38/60) |
| Return Points | 37% (22/60) | 54% (27/50) |
| Net Points | 50% (6/12) | 78% (14/18) |
| Total Points | 41% (45/110) | 59% (65/110) |
| Match Points Saved | 2 | 0 |
| Max Points In A Row | 5 | 8 |
| Max Games In A Row | 3 | 5 |
| Match Duration | 1h19m | |
Discipline First, Power Second
Bouzkova’s defensive resilience demanded patience rather than brute force, and Swiatek was clear about the tactical discipline required.
“I think against her you always have to be solid and really disciplined, because you need to finish points quite often,” Swiatek said. “She’s good defensively, so I think I did that today and applied pressure from the start.”
It was not flawless throughout, but at its best it was brilliant — precise, assertive tennis that Swiatek repeatedly finds at majors even without chasing perfection.
Melbourne Familiarity, Even Without Perfection
The Australian Open has never been Swiatek’s most dominant hunting ground. Her best results remain semifinal runs in 2022 and 2025, and she has endured early exits here in other years. Still, this latest win marked her seventh consecutive appearance in the round of 32 in Melbourne, a measure of her baseline consistency even when conditions do not fully suit her game.
That consistency, however, comes at a cost.
“Ten Days Without a Racket Is Not Enough”
Swiatek was candid when discussing the lack of a true off-season. Her final appearance of 2025 came at the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs in mid-November, before she was back competing at the United Cup on December 2. In reality, that left barely six weeks without matches — much of it consumed by preseason training.
“Physically I feel good, but the calendar is definitely packed,” the 24-year-old said. “There’s not much time to fully switch off. It’s kind of impossible. It feels like there’s no real start or end to the season, because honestly, for people who work physically for basically 11 months, ten days without a racket isn’t enough to reset.”
She explained how even that brief window is mentally fragmented. “For four days you’re still thinking about the previous season, and in the last days you’re already thinking about preparation for the next one. So yes, the calendar is full, the season is getting longer — everyone knows that by now.”
A Willing Shift Forward
One subtle adjustment stood out against Bouzkova: Swiatek’s willingness to finish points at the net. She won 14 of 18 points there, a notable departure for a player so often defined by baseline dominance.
“At some point I had to go to the net and finish points there, because she defends really well,” Swiatek said. “She gets the next ball back and stands quite far behind the baseline, so it’s not easy to hit winners.”
The decision was no accident. “I’m happy that I went to the net. We kind of knew it would be necessary at some point, so I practiced it a bit more yesterday and felt confident there.”
The Hidden Work Away From the Court
Swiatek also acknowledged that recovery is complicated by the demands that come with success. Time away from tournaments rarely means genuine rest.
“When you play well, you also have a lot to do off the court,” she said. “It’s not like you’re just a tennis player. If you play good tennis, you become a public figure — bigger or smaller, you choose — but there’s still a lot to handle.”
Even returning home offers little respite. “When I come back to Warsaw, it’s not like I have a break after tournaments, because there’s so much to do that I can’t do during the season and need to catch up on.”
Consistency Without Pause
Since 2020, Swiatek has reached at least the third round at every Grand Slam she has entered — 24 consecutive majors without an early exit. Her last failure to reach the last 32 came at the 2019 US Open, when she was 18 and ranked outside the top 50.
The numbers are staggering: 25 career titles, including 11 WTA 1000 trophies and six Grand Slams. Yet Swiatek insists that learning how to rest may now be as important as learning how to win.
“My goal this year is to maybe go somewhere and just rest and do nothing,” she said. “I tend to put a lot on my shoulders. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary if you want to succeed at this level.”