Iga Swiatek has returned to tennis for the first time since she failed to qualify from the group stages at the WTA Finals.
The world number two took an extended break in the off-season, but she is now playing the World Tennis Continental Cup in Shenzhen, China.
Swiatek has teased a limited schedule for the 2026 season, but her return to action provided an impressive straight sets victory against Elena Rybakina.
While the Pole looked good against Rybakina, she suffered a strange defeat to Wang Xinyu in her follow-up match.
Iga Swiatek loses to Xinyu Wang
Swiatek played Wang Xinyu in her next match at the World Tennis Continental Cup, but fared very differently to her match with Rybakina.
The star lost in straight sets to her Chinese opponent, winning just five games in total against the player currently ranked world number 57.
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However, the Chinese star is no pushover. She had previously been as high as World No. 32 and she produced some impressive scalps in 2025.
She reached her first WTA final at the Berlin Open in 2025 as she beat Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa in the tournament.
Swiatek will be hoping her exhibition form doesn’t translate over into the 2026 season, where she will begin by representing Poland in the United Cup.
What else has happened at the World Tennis Continental Cup?
The World Tennis Continental Cup is an exhibition event which pits Team Europe vs Team World, in a similar fashion to the Laver Cup.
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The likes of Flavio Cobolli and Andrey Rublev are performing on the men’s side, while Belinda Bencic joins Swiatek and Rybakina as the WTA representation.
Bencic overcame Wang Xinyu in three sets to confirm victory for Team Europe, while Cobolli managed to do the same against Zhang Zhizhen.
The tournament concludes on 28 December, just five days before the 2026 tennis season begins at the United Cup.
