Iga Swiatek has noticed a difference in the courts at Indian Wells this year after playing her first match.
Swiatek is a two-time former champion in Indian Wells, and will be looking to make history in California this year.
The world number two made a positive start to her 2026 campaign, with Swiatek surviving a scare in the second set to beat Kayla Day 6-0, 7-6(2).
Although she was able to win the match in straight sets, Swiatek has admitted that the conditions and court speeds presented some challenges.
Iga Swiatek claims the Indian Wells courts are quicker than previous years
The conditions at Indian Wells have been a big talking point once again this year, with Swiatek slipping during her win against Day.
When reflecting on the match, Swiatek admitted that she did not find the changing conditions easy to deal with.
“Just I think once I slipped, yeah, but it didn’t really matter,” Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. “I think in the second set my reactions were quite slow, so that’s why it happened. The conditions, they were not easy. It was sometimes windy; sometimes not.
“So there were some moments where the wind kind of surprised me. But, yeah, it’s Indian Wells. It has always been like that (smiling). So we just need to adjust to what’s coming, and that’s it.”
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There has also been a lot of discussion surrounding the courts at Indian Wells getting quicker this year, with the tournament changing the type of hard courts from Plexipave to Laykold.
Swiatek has echoed this sentiment, but claimed that the courts are still slower than a lot of other tournaments.
“Yes, it’s not that slow as it was before,” said the Wimbledon champion. “It’s still slower than some tournaments, but it’s not like surprisingly slow as it was before.”
Iga Swiatek says if she has had a change in mindset after coming back from 5-1 down
After winning the first set without losing a game, Swiatek found herself 5-1 down in the second set against Day, before winning six of the next seven games.
Swiatek has been one of the best frontrunners on the WTA Tour, but more recently she has found herself in losing positions.
When asked about this and her US Open match against Anna Kalinskaya, where Swiatek was down 5-1 in the first set, she suggested that the two matches were completely different.
“Well, on Kalinskaya match it was much different story, because it wasn’t, like, I just had to — whatever. We’re not there,” said Swiatek.
“I think today I came back because I knew I had the game that I showed in first set, that I can, you know, use, and to be intense but more precise with my footwork and put pressure on my opponent.
“First set showed me exactly how to play, but I just didn’t do that at the beginning of the second, so I knew that I can get back to that and turn things around. I think this really helped me today to do that. Yeah, with Kalinskaya was a totally different story.”
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While Swiatek has shown that she is capable of fighting back from losing positions, she will be hoping not to in her next match against Maria Sakkari.
Sakkari beat Swiatek at the Qatar Open last month, with their head-to-head currently level at four wins apiece.
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