THE MODERATOR: Hi, everyone. Welcome to Team Poland's press conference. We will start with the captain.
Welcome to Sydney and the United Cup. How excited are you to be leading the team and playing here in United Cup? Especially with the team having done so well here the last couple of years.
CAPTAIN MATEUSZ TERCZYNSKI: We are really excited to come to Sydney. It's the first tournament of the year, and obviously the whole team atmosphere brings big excitement. We are hoping to do really well.
THE MODERATOR: Hubi, great memories from here mostly last year. Just talk us through how important it is for you to get good matches ahead of Australian Open but also do well here for Team Poland.
HUBERT HURKACZ: I really enjoy the team atmosphere, to represent the country, and especially with such amazing guys here. Of course Iga, being the best, it's always fantastic. Makes it more fun.
THE MODERATOR: Iga, similar question to you. You've also got great memories here and also looking to get some good matches ahead of the first Grand Slam. How important is it for you to really show your best here?
IGA SWIATEK: As you with can see, I'm really treated well. I love to be part of the team. I think our last years' experiences were great and I have great memories. This tournament is different. It brings more excitement than normal tournaments we play during the year. I hope we're going to repeat these nice emotions and just have a good experience.
Overall, I think, yeah, we're playing great, so hopefully we're going to show that on match court, as well.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Iga, it's been about a month since you put out your statement. How do you feel that the response has been both from people in the media and on social media, and do you think people have been fair in their comments?
IGA SWIATEK: I think their response has been more positive than I thought. I think people are, most of them, are understanding, and the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on.
So basically, honestly, I can't really say objectively because I haven't been much on the Internet. I try to, you know, just go on with my life and focus on different things, focus on preparing for the season and on tennis, because this is the best thing you can do after a case like that.
But overall, the reaction in Poland basically, because this is mostly what I read, has been pretty, you know, supportive. I really, really appreciate that, because even when I miss China swing and nobody knew why, it wasn't so easy. So after my case was, the information about my case were released, you know, I was scared that most of the people are going to turn their back on me. But I felt the support, and it's great.
Obviously there are going to be some negative comments and you're not going to avoid that. That's something that is always going to kind of follow us no matter what happens in our lives. We are public persons.
Yeah, well, I just have to accept that and I don't really care about those, honestly.
Q. Mixed doubles is such a big part of this tournament. Obviously you two had a really close match in the final last year. I saw on social media that you and Jan have been practicing together. Is that something the two of you are considering? How do you feel about the mixed doubles in general?
IGA SWIATEK: Well, I think we're considering every option. We are all great players. Jan obviously has won Grand Slams in mixed doubles. He's really experienced.
Honestly, that's a tough question, because I love playing with both the guys, you know. So I guess we'll see tactically what's going to fit better against the opponents that we're going to face.
But, you know, I'm the girl on the court, so honestly, whoever is going to be on my side, hopefully I'm going to play. If it's 1-All, that's kind of the basic plan that we have. I need to catch up anyway with what's going on on court. It's different than doubles.
So I think whoever is going to be on my side will help me anyway. They are both amazing.
Q. Iga, I was just wondering if, given everything that's gone on, you were nervous coming to the first tournament of the year? I know you said you haven't been really much on social media, but were you apprehensive at all? Are you nervous that there could possibly be a WADA appeal like in Jannik Sinner's case?
IGA SWIATEK: The what? Sorry?
Q. WADA appeal, the World Anti-Doping Agency.
IGA SWIATEK: Oh, WADA appeal. Sorry, I didn't hear.
Well, I don't think there is any reason, because I didn't play three tournaments. I was suspended for a long time, and I lost No. 1, you know, because of that. I also know how the procedure worked, and I gave every possible evidence and there is not much, honestly, to do more. So I don't know, there is no point to do an appeal in our opinion, you know.
But, you know, I guess overall, like, this whole process was pretty abstract sometimes and hard to understand from a point of view where you don't think about the law and everything. But honestly, like, this is about the law and the wording and this kind of stuff.
So I'm not expecting an appeal, but I have kind of no influence on what's going to happen. But I can say from the processes that I went through and how they treated me from the beginning, that it seemed fair for me. I managed to give the source pretty quickly. That's why the case closed, you know, pretty quickly.
But still, I didn't play tournaments, and I kind of, I got a fine, small one, symbolic one, but it's over now. So I guess, in my opinion, it was a fair process, and I trust ITIA that any case they do, they're going to treat every player the same way and fairly.
Q. Iga, just talking about the apprehension of returning to tennis. Has it made it more easy for you to do it in a team setting? You have six people here with you to support you in your return.
IGA SWIATEK: Well, I wouldn't say returning to tennis because I literally, I missed three tournaments. I wouldn't say it was such a long break for me to -- obviously, like, mentally it was tough and I had, like, many thoughts that wouldn't have been there if I didn't have to go through this whole process. But still I found enough strength and support from people around me to come back.
You know, it's different having, I think, short ban than the long ban. I think I'm in no place to compare that, because, yeah, it must be much harder and, yeah, I mean, it's terrible for any player who has to go through this.
Yeah, but, you know, I'm happy that I'm through this, and I can focus on the future.
Q. Hubi --
HUBERT HURKACZ: Thanks.
IGA SWIATEK: Thanks, as well. Let's talk about United Cup maybe (smiling).
Q. This could be for both of you, too. You were at Sydney Harbour this morning. You've been in Sydney 2a bunch of times for this event. Just how nice is it to start your year in this city and playing a team event and just being in that atmosphere?
HUBERT HURKACZ: I really love coming here to Australia. Sydney has been great to me. I've been playing some good matches and some nice battles. And the city of course and the Australian people I really, really enjoy the atmosphere that is here.
Everyone's coming after a short break, so it's beginning of a new season. So everyone is kind of eager to start playing some tennis.
Q. I just wanted to ask that the United Cup is quite unique in that you play some very high-ranked players sometimes very early on, maybe your first match of the tournament, which is very unique in the way that you probably wouldn't play those players until maybe the quarterfinals or semifinals at a slam. How important is it to get those sorts of high-quality matches in ahead of a Grand Slam tournament?
HUBERT HURKACZ: I think it's a great preparation to play against the best guys. Ultimately, like, that's why you play tennis, to play against those guys and to win matches against those guys.
So it's a good test of what you have done in the preparation.
Q. This is just a question for Jan. You had a lot of success in mixed doubles last year. What makes you such a good mixed doubles player?
JAN ZIELINSKI: You would have to ask that question to my opponents. I mean, I'm just going out there and play tennis. I'm trying my best in the practice court to go out there and show my strengths and hide my weaknesses to my best capabilities. I mean...
IGA SWIATEK: No weaknesses, come on.
JAN ZIELINSKI: I'm hiding them. Well, you don't see them, you see?
No, I mean, throughout my career, I played a mixed doubles my first year on tour four times. I lost four times in the first round, and then all of a sudden I have had that success this year.
I don't know. I think it just comes from confidence and getting the feel of the mixed doubles game as it's a little different compared to doubles and especially singles. So you have to set your mind a little different approaching the match.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports