The world No. 2 was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Gauff in the first match of Poland's 2-0 loss to the United States in the final of the 2025 United Cup in Sydney.

Hubert Hurkacz's 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4) loss to Taylor Fritz in an extremely tight second rubber confirmed a second consecutive runner-up finish for Poland at the United Cup after they lost to Germany in the 2024 final.

Swiatek was up a break in both sets against Gauff, but she was unable to convert her leads as she fell to just her third defeat in 14 matches with the 20-year-old American.

When trailing 5-4 in the second set, Swiatek took a medical timeout to have strapping applied to her left thigh. The 23-year-old left the court in tears after her defeat and appeared to be walking gingerly.

Swiatek received treatment on her right thigh early in the third set of her thrilling and hard-fought win over Katie Boulter in Poland's quarter-final clash with Great Britain. She then wore strapping on the same thigh in her intense straight-set victory against Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals.

With the 2025 Australian Open set to get underway on Sunday January 12, there is some concern over Swiatek's fitness.

In Team Poland's press conference after the final, Swiatek pointed to fatigue when asked if the treatment she received was for a different issue to that which had bothered her in her previous matches.

"Well, taping wasn't a different leg, but nothing happened really," she said.

"Like, I was just tired. You know, the volume at the beginning of the tournament especially has been pretty big, so yeah, but honestly, like, this really, it's all good."

The five-time Grand Slam winner also explained she was pleased with what she had gained from the United Cup heading into the Australian Open.

"I'm for sure happy, because, you know, I played some heavy hitters as well this week and also some girls that played tough. I was able to play against both really great tennis," Swiatek added.

"For sure, today I wasn't able to give 100%. Coco also played amazing, you know, and she's for sure improving. But overall, I'm really happy with the week. I feel like things I worked on really improved.

"But on the other hand, like, you know, this week, Australian Open is a different story, so still I'm gonna do everything step by step and continue the work that I have been doing."

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