Iga Swiatek Explains Why Her Practice Sessions for Miami Open Have Been ‘Tricky’

Iga Swiatek will start her run in the ongoing Miami Open on Thursday (March 19) against fellow countrywoman Magda Linette. Swiatek, the former champion in Miami, will be hoping to progress to the semifinals for the first time this season.

The 24-year-old, who won the United Cup with Poland earlier this year, has so far played three singles tournaments, and her run ended in the quarterfinals. Eventual champion Elena Rybakina knocked her out of the Australian Open, while Maria Sakkari beat her at the Qatar Open. At the Indian Wells, Elina Svitolina was the reason behind her exit.

Amid her form struggles, Swiatek also found her practice sessions in Miami tricky because of the weather. Rain has been disrupting the matches, so much so that matches on Wednesday were canceled.

It’s been tricky with the practices because of the weather but we changed our schedule to manage that and yeah I got two practices now which is great also not so much flexibility with the courts because these are the busiest days of the tournament, so I’ll try to adjust to the conditions because that’s the most important thing when you switch from different surfaces and everything and be ready for the first match.

Iga Swiatek said at the press conference

In Miami back in 2022, Swiatek completed the Sunshine Doubles by defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. Last year, Alexandra Eala eliminated her in the quarterfinals.

I felt great during practice, but obviously, it’s usually closed patterns there; it’s gonna also take some adjustments, I would say, but the center court hasn’t been available. So also we are going to see how the surface looks on a center court.

Iga Swiatek added

Swiatek has so far met her Miami Open opening-round opponent Linette once, in the fourth round of the 2023 China Open. Linette, an unseeded player, beat Varvara Gracheva to schedule the match against the second seed.

Swiatek is the winner of 11 WTA 1000 titles, the last of which she won at the 2025 Cincinnati Open by defeating Jasmine Paolini. Apart from the Cincinnati Open, Swiatek made three semifinals at this level last year.

Dmitry Tursunov thinks Iga Swiatek will struggle to stay in the top 5

Between 2022 and 2024, Swiatek heavily dominated on the tour, winning 19 titles from 22 finals. But since last year, Swiatek has been struggling to perform consistently.

After a slow start to the 2025 season, Swiatek, who, although she was making deep runs, did not win her first title before Wimbledon. She won her first grass-court title by double-bageling Amanda Anisimova. It was surprising because Swiatek, considered the best clay-court player on the tour, did not even reach a final on the grass surface.

She continued her winning ways at the Cincinnati Open and the Korea Open and was expected to be in her best form in the 2026 season. But as this is not the case so far, Emma Raducanu‘s former coach, Dmitry Tursunov, said the World No.3 will struggle to stay in the top 5 on the rankings table.

It’s unlikely she’ll be able to get out of this slump. We’re not even talking about returning to the top of the WTA rankings. We’re talking about staying in the top five.

Dmitry Tursunov wrote on Telegram

Swiatek stands in the ninth spot in the WTA Race to Riyadh ranking. She will be hoping to rediscover her form before the clay swing, where she has so far won 10 titles, including four Roland Garros trophies. The last time she won a trophy on the surface was at the 2024 French Open by beating Paolini.

Also read: Emma Raducanu’s Coach Dives into the Hype Around Joao Fonseca

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