{"id":1798607,"date":"2026-02-28T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1798607"},"modified":"2026-02-28T10:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T07:00:13","slug":"iga-swiatek-backed-for-big-run-in-indian-wells-as-star-searches-for-top-form-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1798607","title":{"rendered":"Iga Swiatek backed for &#8216;big run&#8217; in Indian Wells as star searches for top form in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Iga Swiatek backed for \u2018big run\u2019 in Indian Wells as star searches for top form in 2026<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/oli-dickson-jefford\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Oli Dickson Jefford                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"28 Feb 2026 10:00 AM\" data-ps-date=\"28 Feb 2026 10:00 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1772272813\"><br \/>\n                            28 Feb 2026 10:00 AM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/iga-swiatek-backed-big-run-indian-wells-star-searches-for-top-form-2026\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to facebook\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Figa-swiatek-backed-big-run-indian-wells-star-searches-for-top-form-2026\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to twitter\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Figa-swiatek-backed-big-run-indian-wells-star-searches-for-top-form-2026\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to linkedin\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/\/send\/?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Figa-swiatek-backed-big-run-indian-wells-star-searches-for-top-form-2026\" aria-label=\"Share to whatsapp\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Figa-swiatek-backed-big-run-indian-wells-star-searches-for-top-form-2026\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a class=\"!text-share-icon hover:!text-share-icon-active flex items-center justify-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" aria-label=\"Follow Tennis365 on Google Search\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Iga Swiatek backed for \u2018big run\u2019 in Indian Wells as star searches for top form in 2026\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMAGE-LEFT-TEXT-RIGHT-ALIGNED-1-2-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Iga Swiatek and tennis pundit Sam Querrey.\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Iga Swiatek and tennis pundit Sam Querrey.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Former ATP Tour star Sam Querrey has tipped Iga Swiatek to return to top form in Indian Wells and potentially challenge for the title.<\/p>\n<p>World No 2 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/iga-swiatek\">Swiatek<\/a> is the reigning Wimbledon champion and a six-time Grand Slam champion overall, though she has not won a singles title at any level since her victory at the WTA 500 Korea Open last September.<\/p>\n<p>The Pole fell in the fourth round of the China Open and the quarter-final of the Wuhan Open towards the tailend of 2025, also failing to make it out of the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek\u2019s 2026 started with Poland lifting the United Cup title for the first time, though the 24-year-old was beaten by Coco Gauff in the semi-final and then Belinda Bencic in the final of the mixed team event.<\/p>\n<p>The world No 2 was then beaten in the last eight of the Australian Open in straight sets by eventual champion Elena Rybakina, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/maria-sakkari-wta-live-rankings-snaps-historic-iga-swiatek-streak-stunning-upset\">before a quarter-final loss to Maria Sakkari at the Qatar Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek has not played since her quarter-final loss to Sakkari in Doha, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/aryna-sabalenka-iga-swiatek-withdraw-wta-dubai-championships-2026\">with the Pole pulling out of the Dubai Tennis Championships<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Her form has not been at its top level in recent months, and Swiatek will now look for a resurgence in Indian Wells \u2014 one of her happiest hunting grounds.<\/p>\n<p>The Pole is a two-time champion at the prestigious WTA 1000 event, beating Sakkari to lift the title in 2022, before beating the Greek once again in 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/wta-indian-wells-entry-list-2026\">WTA Indian Wells 2026 Entry List: Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, Gauff star; will Eala be seeded?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/wta-indian-wells-2026-ranking-points-prize-money-breakdown\">WTA Indian Wells 2026: Prize money and ranking points revealed as Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, Gauff star<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Swiatek has reached four straight semi-finals at the tournament, falling to eventual champion Rybakina in the last four in 2023, and to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva at that stage in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Slower and windier conditions in Tennis Paradise have been well-suited towards the former world No 1 in the past, and she has now been backed for another strong run at the event.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis.com\/news\/articles\/sam-querrey-look-for-iga-swiatek-to-kickstart-2026-season-at-indian-wells\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Tennis.com<\/em><\/a> this week, former ATP world No 11 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/sam-querrey\">Querrey<\/a> was asked which player would use the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019 \u2014 action in Indian Wells and the Miami Open \u2014 as a launchpad for further success this season.<\/p>\n<p>He replied: \u201cThis is a tough one because pretty much every top player on the men\u2019s and women\u2019s side has had a decent start to the year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll take Swiatek to make a big run and potentially win it \u2014 especially if she plays a handful of night matches or matches in the wind. I think she\u2019s dangerous in those conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek is set to be the second seed in Indian Wells this year, behind world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.<\/p>\n<p>All 32 seeds receive an opening-round bye at the tournament, meaning Swiatek\u2019s quest for a third Indian Wells title will begin next Friday or Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>She is currently one of 10 different women to have won two Indian Wells titles, though could become the first woman to win the tournament three times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/emma-raducanu-tim-henman-verdict-new-coach\">Exclusive \u2013 Tim Henman sends out a warning to Emma Raducanu as he makes \u2018overtaken\u2019 claim<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"kwizly-quiz kwizly-eEDrkX\" data-nosnippet=\"\" data-quiz-type=\"poll|mpu\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iga Swiatek backed for \u2018big run\u2019 in Indian Wells as star searches for top form in 2026 Oli Dickson Jefford 28 Feb 2026 10:00 AM Iga Swiatek and tennis pundit Sam Querrey. Former ATP Tour star Sam Querrey has tipped Iga Swiatek to return to top form in Indian Wells and potentially challenge for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1798607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1798607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1798607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1798607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1798607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}