On January 5th, Beijing time, the final of the 2025 Tennis United Cup kicked off, with top-seeded Team USA facing off against last year's runner-up, Poland, in a battle between two strong teams. In the first women's singles match, world number 2, Swiatek, lost 0-2 to American prodigy Gauff, failing to secure an early lead for Poland. This was also Swiatek's first loss in the United Cup over the past two years.
After the game, perhaps due to the immense pressure of representing her country or the regret of not securing a crucial point for her team, the former world number 1 broke down in tears once again, unable to stop the tears from falling despite her teammates' attempts to comfort her.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Swiatek has publicly broken down in tears. Last year at the Paris Olympics, Swiatek admitted to crying for six hours after losing to Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals.
At the time, Swiatek was one of Poland's few hopes for gold at the Olympics, but ultimately, the Chinese dark horse, Zheng Qinwen, took away the gold medal that Swiatek had been determined to win.
In the women's singles final, Swiatek also wasted many opportunities to win. In the first set, both players engaged in a fierce battle of breaks. Gauff broke serve in the second game, but Swiatek quickly broke back in the third. After Swiatek broke serve in the fifth game, Gauff broke back in the sixth, and the two fought until the tenth game, where Gauff completed a crucial break on Swiatek's must-hold serve, eventually winning the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Swiatek started well, breaking serve in the fifth game and holding serve in the sixth to lead 4-2 at one point. However, the unstoppable Gauff broke serve twice and won four games in a row, ultimately completing the comeback with a 6-4 victory, thus defeating Swiatek in straight sets and securing the first point for Team USA.
Despite this victory, Gauff still trails 3 wins to 11 losses in their head-to-head record, but after defeating Swiatek again in the United Cup following last year's year-end triumph, Gauff has indeed undergone a transformation. She will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to win the upcoming Australian Open.
