Iga Swiatek didn't hide her happiness after defeating Elena Rybakina at the United Cup as the Pole acknowledged that it was extremely important for her to beat the Kazakh on a faster surface where she usually struggles in this particular matchup.

Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina duel in United Cup semifinal instant classic match. Swiatek and Poland prevail, advancing to the finals.

Iga Swiatek insists she is really looking forward to meeting Elena Rybakina since she thinks it will be a great chance to test herself ahead of the Australian Open. After Poland and Kazakhstan booked semifinal tickets at the United Cup, that automatically set up one of the most attractive matchups in women's tennis.

Poland marched into a second successive final at the United Cup mixed team tennis tournament on Saturday with a convincing 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan after Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek won their singles matches.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek was on court for the first time since she served a one-month ban for a doping violation. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Poland returned to the semi-finals of the United Cup mixed team tournament for a third successive year after hard-fought singles victories in Sydney handed them an unassailable 2-0 lead over Britain on Thursday.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup on Saturday with victory over Kazakhstan.