Iga Świątek officially returns to the court! The Pole will play in a match with big overtones

It will be a showcase tennis tournament, which will not have any impact on the world rankings, whether men’s (ATP) or women’s (WTA), but it is slowly becoming a part of the professional calendar, just at the turn of the new and the new season. This year’s edition will be the third in the history of this rather unusual competition.

World Tennis League: Iga Świątek will face Simon Halep

As previously announced, Iga Świątek will present herself during the World Tennis League. The Pole will play in the Eagles team together with three players: Kazan Aleksander Shevchenko, Spaniard Paula Badosa and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

From Thursday (December 19), the game will include, among others: just Świątek. The Pole will face Simon Halep. The Romanian did not hide her outrage at the decisions of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) related to the Polish woman’s doping slip-up in recent months. Let us remind you that Świątek was punished with a one-month suspension due to unknowingly taking a banned substance.

Interestingly, Halep, the winner of the Grand Slams of Roland Garros (2018) and Wimbledon (2019), was also suspended – but for up to four years – for using an illegal substance. Ultimately, the penalty from September 2023 was shortened to one and a half years, thanks to which the Romanian returned to the game in March 2024. In the case of Halep, the tennis player also officially denied that she had consciously taken doping.

The World Tennis League will be held on December 19-22 in Abu Dhabi. The tournament will also feature, among others: Jasmine Paolini, Jelena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka – the leader of the WTA ranking, after dethroning Świątek.

The teams will play in a round robin format, and the results will be recorded in a common table. The two best teams with the highest number of games won will advance to the final. Each match will consist of five smaller matches: men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.

The competition will be shown on Canal+ Sport and on the Internet, on the Canal+ online platform.

Iga Świątek and all her championship titles

In her career so far, the Pole has won a total of 22 championship titles on courts almost all over the world.

Świątek won five Grand Slams, four times at Roland Garros (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024) and once at the US Open (2022). To this should be added the prestigious triumph in the WTA Finals (2023).

In addition, wins in WTA 1000 tournaments in: Rome (2021, 2022, 2024), Doha (2022 and 2024), Indian Wells (2022 and 2024), Miami (2022), Beijing (2023) and Madrid (2024) ).

The list also includes WTA 500 competitions: Adelaide (2021), Stuttgart (2022 and 2023), San Diego (2022) and the aforementioned Doha (2023). Plus a Polish accent, WTA 250 in Warsaw (2023).

After the Olympic tournament in Paris (2024), a bronze medal of the Games should be added to this list. The first disc in the history of Polish Olympics taken from competition on tennis courts.