Matkowski: Świątek missing WTA Finals could help her start the 2027 season

Poland's best female tennis players have already finished the 2026 season. Iga Świątek will not play in the WTA Finals, where she competed every year until 2021. According to Sportowefakty WP, she is currently ranked 9th and cannot improve that this year. Marcin Matkowski, captain of Poland's Davis Cup team, says it is no reason to be sad.

A longer break as an advantage

Matkowski played in the ATP Finals seven times, so he knows this stage of the season first-hand. He explains that playing in the season-ending event extends the campaign by 3–4 weeks. In his view, this does not help build form for the next year. Participants then get only about two weeks of rest before they must resume preparations.

"In her place, I would see it as a big opportunity to use," Matkowski said. He added that he knows from experience how hard it is to enter a season after such a short break.

Thigh injury and a new coach

Świątek ended her season more than a week before the interview was published, with a semi-final in Wuhan. She will play her next official match only in January in Australia. In the coming weeks she can focus on treating a left thigh injury and on physical and mental recovery.

Matkowski noted that this will be the first such long break since she changed coach. In his view, little has changed in the Pole's game so far, which does not surprise him, as players at this level are hard to change. He sees the biggest difference in her now having full trust in coach Francisco Roig. Among her good performances this season, he named her matches in Toronto. He believes that next year she could again fight for a Grand Slam title in Paris.

Chwalińska and injuries

Matkowski also spoke about Maja Chwalińska. After winning in Wuhan she could not continue her run, because a thigh injury and an overloaded elbow ruled her out of the Tokyo tournament. The captain said that withdrawing her from the event was the right decision, and that risking a worse injury would have been reckless. In his view, she achieved everything she could this season.

Next season her main task will be to stabilise her form at the highest level. Matkowski recalled that the 2027 Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam in which she goes straight into the main draw.

What this means for you

The comments have no direct consequences for people living in the UK. For fans, they are a pointer that Świątek will not play until January 2027, with her return planned for the tournament in Australia.