Swiatek, Hurkacz lead Poland back to United Cup quarterfinals
Two-time United Cup runner-up Poland is headed back to the quarterfinals after Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek delivered singles victories in a sweep of the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Poland needed only one win to clinch a place in the knockout rounds but captured all three. Hurkacz secured qualification with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Tallon Griekspoor in the opening match of the tie, and Swiatek quickly extended the lead to 2-0 before Poland closed out the sweep with a 6-3, 3-6, [10-4] victory in mixed doubles.
United Cup: Scores | Standings
After being pushed to three sets by Suzan Lamens last summer at the US Open in their first meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, Swiatek pulled away from 3-3 in the first set to win nine of the final 11 games in a 6-3, 6-2 triumph.
"I feel like after first few games I improved my level, and I was more precise with my footwork," Swiatek said to reporters. "I think it was an improvement comparing to the last match."
After struggling on serve in her season opener against Germany's Eva Lys in Poland's first group-stage match, being broken seven times, Swiatek cleaned things up considerably against Lamens to improve to 2-0 against her. She recorded five holds to love, won 84% of her first-serve points, and faced just one break point.
"I'm really happy that I found a way to be more solid in the middle of the first set because it was pretty even until then," Swiatek said afterward on court. "I felt like I had more control over the ball and could go for it. I'm really happy that we won this tie just with singles; it gives us good confidence going into the quarterfinals."
Entering the tie, Poland needed to win one match to guarantee its spot in the last eight at the mixed-teams event. Like Swiatek, Hurkacz wasted little time, and produced a dominant serving performance in which he hit 20 aces and did not face a break point.
"Definitely didn’t know how I was going to start the season. Haven’t played for seven months, so you don’t really know what to expect," Hurkacz said. "I was playing okay in the practice, but practice is so different from the match when you have so many emotions, you have fans around. I’m quite positively surprised and pleased with that performance out there."
Prior to this tournament, Hurkacz had not played since June 2025 because of a knee injury that required surgery. But the former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has come out firing in the new season with straight-sets victories against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev and Griekspoor.
“After such a long period you’re just so excited to be out there and it also gives you a different perspective on things,” Hurkacz said. “I think that’s why I’m able to perform maybe better and even stay calm in the difficult moments.”
Poland will face home favourite Australia Friday evening Sydney in what promises to be a scintillating clash. Hurkacz and Swiatek's side is pursuing its first United Cup triumph after back-to-back runner-up finishes.