Iga Swiatek has playfully taken credit for Taylor Swift’s internet-breaking announcement about her brand new album. Swiatek, who is a self-proclaimed Swiftie, joked that her recent remarks about Ariana Grande at the 2025 Cincinnati Open had set the move in motion.
Swift recently joined her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason Kelce on their New Heights podcast. In a teaser for the much-awaited episode, the pop star revealed the exciting news about her upcoming 12th studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl.’
Andy Roddick’s Served podcast celebrated the news with an amusing snap of the former World No. 1 decked out in Taylor Swift merchandise. Iga Swiatek humorously chimed in on the post, joking that Swift’s move was “obviously” a response to her gushing about Ariana Grande at the Cincinnati Open.
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"Well...its obviously because I just spoke about Ariana Grande in press and now we'll have an album, you see? 🤣🤣," Swiatek commented.
Swiatek has never been shy about professing her love for Taylor Swift, from raving about her songs to attending an Eras Tour concert and even receiving a handwritten letter from the singer. However, the Pole recently said that she had also gained a newfound respect for Ariana Grande, despite previously disregarding the singer because of her attachment to Swift.
While speaking to the press at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, Iga Swiatek disclosed that she had initially found Grande to be lacking in comparison to Swift.
"I was always a Swiftie, so when Taylor was big in 2014, 2016, Ariana [Grande] also was big but I was kind of comparing them and I liked Taylor more. So, I didn’t really listen to Ariana and I didn’t really care that much," Swiatek said.
However, Ariana Grande's Oscar-nominated performance as Glinda in 'Wicked' completely changed Swiatek's perspective. The World No. 3 expressed her admiration for Grande's impressive vocal range and shared that she was pleasantly surprised by her remarkable dancing and acting skills, which made the pop star go up in her estimation.
"But then, on Wicked, when I saw what she did to perform that well and how she raised her voice to reach a range she wasn’t able to reach before, and how she performed overall: danced, acted. I didn’t know she could do that. Probably people who were already interested in her knew about it, but I was just shocked. I got huge amounts of respect," she added.
Iga Swiatek also revealed that she had gotten "addicted" to the 'Wicked' soundtrack, admitting that she ultimately had to stop listening to it because she was constantly singing the songs in her head.
Iga Swiatek on her plans to watch 'Wicked' musical: "I should wait for the second part of the movie before I go to watch the Broadway show"
In the same press conference, Iga Swiatek said that while she was eager to watch the Broadway production of 'Wicked,' she wanted to wait until after watching the movie sequel 'Wicked For Good,' which is slated to release in November 2025.
"I should wait for the second part of the movie before I go to watch the Broadway show. Usually, when I read a book, for example, I don’t want to watch the movie first because I don’t want to ruin the visual image of the book that I have in my head. It’s kind of the same right now. I think I’m going to wait until November and then for sure the show will still be on next year. So, I’ll watch the show then," Iga Swiatek said.
On the tennis front, Swiatek kicked off her Cincinnati Open campaign by claiming a dominant 6-1, 6-4 win over Anastasia Potapova. The Pole then advanced to the fourth round after receiving a walkover from Marta Kostyuk, who was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a wrist injury.
Iga Swiatek will now battle it out against Sorana Cirstea for a spot in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event. If she wins, the World No. 3 will meet Anna Kalinskaya or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final eight.
