Ranked 402 places above the 25-year-old Norwegian, five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek was always a heavy favourite to triumph in her United Cup opener.
However, the manner of her victory will likely be reassuring after a tricky few months heading into the New Year.
Swiatek split with long-term coach Tomasz Wiktorowski following her US Open exit, and it then emerged in November that she had failed a drug test at the Cincinnati Open back in August 2024.
The Pole served a one-month suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency found her of “no significant fault” after testing positive for TMZ, successfully proving her melatonin medication had inadvertently been contaminated.
The former world No 1 also announced that she had started working with new coach Wim Fissette, who had previously guided Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber to major success.
Asked by Andrea Petkovic in her post-match interview whether she and Fisette had worked on any significant changes during the off-season, Swiatek refused to give too much away.
“Well, you can have your theories – it’s a secret,” joked Swiatek. “We can talk off the camera.
“I guess it’s just kind of the usual stuff, you know. For sure, getting more variety on the serve and also working on my technique a bit.
“It’s not always about the results but also getting the technique more smooth and being able to keep the quality longer because of that.”
Many questioned how Swiatek would approach 2025 after her doping case, having initially missed three tournaments during a provisional three-week suspension from September 12th to October 4th.
Her split with Wiktorowski also intrigued some, with the pair working together for a lengthy spell – winning four Grand Slam titles and spending 125 weeks as the world No 1 during their partnership.
However, the 23-year-old was keen to point out that she was the “same Iga” heading into the new year.
“I feel good, I feel happy – I’m happy I can play tennis overall. [I’m] just taking everything step by step. Focusing on [the] Aussie swing and we’ll see what’s next.”
Swiatek will next be in singles action on New Year’s Day when she faces Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
The Pole leads the head-to-head 2-1 though all three of their previous clashes have gone the distance, including their thrilling French Open final meeting in 2023.
Muchova beat Helgo in her opening clash on Sunday as the Czech Republic claimed a 2-1 win over Norway.
