Iga Swiatek reduced to tears after Poland's heartbreaking loss to Germany in United Cup 2024 final

Iga Swiatek was reduced to tears after Poland lost 1-2 to Germany in the United Cup 2024 final in Australia on Sunday, January 7. Germany staged a comeback win over Poland at the Ken Rosewall Arena to clinch their first-ever United Cup title.

Swiatek started the proceedings for Poland with a statement 6-3, 6-0 win over comeback-mother Angelique Kerber in women's singles. Alexander Zverev, however, turned the tide with a hard-fought victory over Hubert Hurkacz in the men's singles fixture. The German saved two match points in the second set to eventually prevail and bring his side on level terms with the top seeds.

In the deciding mixed-doubles battle, Swiatek and Hurkacz came together against the pair of Laura Siegemund and Zverev. The Germans secured the opening set without much resistance from their opponents, but the Poles fought back by clinching the second set.

Swiatek and Hurkacz, however, failed to challenge Siegemund and Zverev in the 10-point tiebreaker third set and lost the match 4-6, 7-5, 4-10. Afterwards, Swiatek was seemingly inconsolable and she was seen with tears rolling down her eyes.

The video of the World No. 1's emotional reaction can be watched below:

Iga Swiatek led Poland's charge from the front throughout the United Cup tournament, across both Perth and Sydney. She was invincible in singles, winning each of her matches convincingly.

---

"Iga Swiatek's going to be great in 2024" - Alex Corretja

Iga Swiatek

Former tennis professional Alex Corretja recently stated that Iga Swiatek has been growing from strength to strength of late.

"Swiatek, she's learning so much. I think she's going in the right direction. She's not just thinking about winning in the short term. She's trying to improve different things, in my opinion. She's hitting the ball harder, especially on the forehand side. Her surface game also been improving quite a lot," Corretja told Eurosport.

The former World No. 2 further bet his money on the Pole securing another Grand Slam title in the 2024 season. He said:

"I think she knows now that she needs to be also very aggressive because everybody's trying to dictate, but at the same time she's trying to be very stable. So I think she's going to be great in 2024 and I see her even more mature. So I'm sure that she's going to win a Slam again."

Iga Swiatek has won four Major trophies to date — three at the French Open and one at the US Open.