Indomitable Iga Swiatek chasing a piece of history at 2026 Australian Open

World No. 2 Swiatek has already cemented her place as a tennis great and is arguably the leading WTA player of her era so far, with 125 weeks as world No 1 and six Grand Slam singles titles to her name.

The Pole is best known for her four French Open triumphs, though she was also the champion at the 2022 US Open and at Wimbledon in 2025.

The Australian Open is the sole Slam that the 24-year-old has yet to win, and, having sealed her first Wimbledon title this season, she will now compete to complete the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne for the first time in January.

Swiatek has never previously reached the final in Melbourne, losing in the semi-final of the event twice; to Danielle Collins in 2022 and to Madison Keys - after holding match point - in 2025.

In the history of tennis, both before and during the Open Era, only 10 women have ever completed the Career Grand Slam.

Should Swiatek complete the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne next year, she would become the first woman to achieve the feat since Maria Sharapova at the 2012 French Open.

Speaking in a new interview with Clay and RG Media, the world No 2 has revealed that winning the Australian Open would be a "dream", though she is cautious of looking too far ahead.

"Obviously it's something that I dream of and something that I want to happen one day but I'm not going to come to Melbourne and think about it every day," said Swiatek.

"I know that there's seven matches to win and the Grand Slams are two weeks, a lot can happen. So I'm really going to just take it step by step. Just focusing on the pre-season well is the key, and then I'll see.

"But for sure, it would be a dream come true."

Though Swiatek has won more Grand Slam titles than any other woman over the past decade, not all of her triumphs have been expected.

The Pole was memorably just 19 years of age and ranked 54th in the world when she lifted her first Grand Slam title at the 2020 French Open, having never previously won a WTA-level tournament.

Swiatek was also not the favourite to lift the Wimbledon title earlier this summer, entering the event having never previously made it past the quarter-final of the tournament, and having not won any title in 13 months.

Reflecting on such moments, the Pole revealed that she preferred not to imagine winning any tournaments - in case it impacted her work ethic.

She commented: "I've got to say that most of the amazing things that happen in my career happened when I wasn't really expecting them and wasn't really focusing on them.

"I'm not that kind of person that imagines myself with the trophy or something. I don't think it would give me a lot of discipline in terms of the work, so I think I'd rather focus on the process. Also, you don't always have full influence on the results."

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