Iga Świątek’s heroic fight! Health problems and the promotion of the Polish national team

As expected, the match between Iga Świątek and Katie Boulter was a really interesting and – what is worth emphasizing – qualitatively solid match. The second-placed player in the WTA ranking and one of the revelations of the 2024 season finally met on both sides of the net. The British player is undoubtedly playing the best of her career after several years of tennis collapse.

Iga Świątek – Katie Boutler. The Pole won and advanced to the semi-finals!

Both ladies went out onto the court, already aware that Poland was in the lead in the competition, thanks to Hubert Hurkacz’s victory. The Wrocław native won his first match during the United Cup 2025, after two previous defeats. However, Billy Harris turned out to be an obstacle that “Hubi” overcame. However, such a result is hardly surprising, the Pole is still in the top twenty of the ATP ranking, while his rival from Great Britain is not even among the best hundred in the world.

Returning to Świątek, she started the match with a 4:1 lead. Although the break was on the Polish side, both ladies showed some really good tennis. An example would be the third game, on Świątek’s serve, which lasted well over 10 minutes. Boulter had her chances to break through, but ultimately the higher-ranked Pole was able to get out of trouble unscathed. However, the Briton consistently put pressure on Świątek, eventually leading 4-4 ​​and then winning the tie-break 7-4 after 73 minutes.

In the second game, the Pole started again impressively, with a 4-0 lead. This time, Boulter failed to make a successful comeback. This is mainly due to Świątek, who has full control over events on the court. Ultimately, it ended with 6:1 for the Pole and the third set was to decide the result.

Already at the beginning of the third game, Polish fans could fear for Świątek’s health. When the score was 2:1 for Boulter, Polka asked for a medical break. After consulting doctors, Świątek left the court in Sydney to use the so-called medical time-out. It is difficult to determine how serious this health problem is. The Pole returned to the court after a few minutes with her right thigh bandaged. Świątek, however, did not give up the match and continued to fight for a crucial point in terms of advancing to the United Cup semi-finals.

Interestingly, after her return, the Polish tennis player scored points in series, going from 1:2 to a 3:2 lead, again breaking the British. It became clear that Świątek had no intention of giving up until the very end. The Pole won the third set 6:4, but it was tense on both sides. Świątek had a chance to break earlier, just like Boulter. Especially the balance play (40:40) in game number 9, right at the line, is certainly memorable for fans of the Polish team. Świątek after a while pressed Boulter and broke it for the decisive 6:4.

The last edition of the competition between the Polish team and the British team will be mixed doubles. However, the result will not be of much importance as the lead is 2:0, which means success is guaranteed. However, Poland added a third point thanks to the victory of the mixed team created by Maja Chwalińska and Jan Zieliński.

In the United Cup semi-finals, Poland will face Kazakhstan on Saturday night. The team of the semi-final rival of the Polish team includes, among others: its biggest star, Elena Rybakina. The competition for the United Cup 2025 final begins at 0:30 Polish time, exactly on the night from Friday to Saturday.

United Cup 2025. The Polish national team is among the world’s best

The Polish team finished the group games with complete victories. The national team won 2-1 in both cases, first against Norway and then against the Czech Republic. Interestingly, Iga Świątek had all the victories. The team leader won both singles and mixed doubles, first in a duo with Jan Zieliński (vs Norway), and then with Hubert Hurkacz (vs Czech Republic).

It is worth recalling that in the case of the history of the United Cup, Polish tennis is doing quite well. Two finals have been played so far, and one of them – last year’s (2023/24) – featured the Polish national team. Ultimately, Świątek and Hurkacz lost to the German team, represented by Angelika Kerber (lost to Świątek), Alex Zwieriew (won to Hurkacz) and doubles Laura Siegemund / Alexander Zwieriew (defeated by Świątek/Hurkacz duo). In the premiere edition, the USA crushed Italy 4-0 in the final.

The matches are shown on Polsat Sport and online, among others. via the Polsat Box Go platform.