Australian Open 2026: Iga Swiatek’s ‘life-changing’ match awaits Australian Madison Inglis

Inglis, who has been plying her trade at the lower level of the WTA Tour, may have earned a run, but she is unlikely to feel rusty when she faces Swiatek.

She played singles, doubles and mixed doubles – alongside fiancé Jason Kuebler – and spent 16 hours and 12 minutes on court over the past 12 days.

“Once you go out and play, and you want it so bad, it’s crazy what you can do,” Inglis said.

By comparison, Swiatek, seeded second, played just over five hours of tennis, a heavy workload by her own standards.

The Polish player suffered a mixed start in the tournament as she seeks to complete her career in the four major tournaments.

Swiatek defeated 31st-seeded Anna Kalinskaya with an error-filled performance on Saturday, as she struggled to serve and committed 34 unforced errors in her first-round match against Chinese qualifier Yuan Yu.

Inglis also had to fight her way through the early rounds.

Four of her five singles matches – across the qualifiers and main draw – went to three sets, while six were played into deciders.

Her emotions flowed when she defeated German Laura Siegmund in a marathon match in the second round, and she fell on the court crying after more than three hours of playing.

“I haven’t been in the main draw of a Grand Slam for a long time,” Inglis said after that win.

“To be at a Grand Slam in Melbourne – it’s my favorite tournament. My family is here. Jason was there. To be able to share wins with them is crazy and very special.”

“I’ll figure it all out. It’s not like you get to be in the third round of a Grand Slam every day.”

Reaching the fourth round is rare, and the quarter-finals will be like a fairy tale.