Iga Swiatek, left, of Poland, performs with Casper Ruud, of Norway, throughout their combined doubles match on the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in New York.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Round 8 p.m. Monday, Iga Swiatek was holding up her Cincinnati Open championship trophy.
Round 8 a.m. Tuesday, she was preparing for her combined doubles match on the U.S. Open in New York Metropolis.
It’s been a fast turnaround.
“This was essentially the most excessive scenario and most excessive schedule I’ve had after a title win,” Swiatek, at the moment ranked second on the planet, mentioned Tuesday afternoon. “An hour and a half after the match, we already went to catch a airplane.”
However that didn’t sluggish her down. Swiatek and Casper Ruud, her combined doubles companion, received each of their Tuesday matches to safe a spot in Wednesday’s combined doubles quarterfinal, the place they’ll be competing for a spot within the $1 million title recreation.
“Truly, it’s type of good to have one other activity, and to not let your self be lazy however actually deal with the following thrilling factor,” she mentioned concerning the fast turnaround.
Ruud didn’t at all times really feel fairly so calm about it. He was eating in New York whereas Swiatek performed her title match in Ohio and maintaining a detailed eye on the rating. He was secretly chatting with Swiatek’s workforce all through the match — “she doesn’t know this,” Ruud mentioned with fun — and questioning about their doubles match the following morning.
“I can’t lie. I used to be a bit involved,” he mentioned about watching Swiatek proceed to progress by way of the Cincinnati Open’s rounds. He exited the event within the first spherical.
“(However) she was right here doing her warmup at 10 a.m. … I take a look at Iga and I’m like, ‘That is dedication, like I’ve by no means seen it earlier than.’”
The short turnaround from Cincinnati is new for singles gamers on the U.S. Open. With this yr’s reimagined combined doubles draw, which incorporates prime singles gamers for the primary time, the week that was often restoration time is now taking part in time.
Carlos Alcaraz, the boys’s champion in Cincinnati, confronted an identical turnaround to his afternoon doubles match with Emma Raducanu. He did have a couple of extra hours on every finish, given the scheduling of each tournaments.
Alcaraz was knocked out of combined doubles Tuesday afternoon, however Swiatek and Ruud can be again in motion Wednesday.
“Iga can have a superb sleep tonight,” mentioned Ruud. “She deserves that.”
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Printed – August 21, 2025 04:54 am IST
