After Ashleigh Barty’s unexpected retirement from tennis at the age of 25, the undisputed ruler of the WTA Tour has certainly become Iga Swiatekthe 20-year-old Polish girl who already has a career slam title, won in 2020 on Parisian clay-courts.
In 2022 the Iga, thanks to Barty’s retirement, reached the first place in the ranking and acquired a massive dose of awareness, which allowed her to make the definitive leap in quality and achieve a certain continuity in the results, buying up a lot of trophies .
Swiatek started the season with a sensational score of 29-3 and won 4 tournaments, including three Master 1000 (Qatar, Indian Wells and Miami), also reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open. The Pole preferred to give up the Madrid Master 1000, underway in recent weeks, to recover energy for Roland Garros, her main goal.
In a recent interview with Mujerhoy, the world’s number one addressed various issues, including that of her childhood idol.
Iga Swiatek: “Rafael Nadal is my great reference”
The young Polish girl talked about who instilled in her a passion for tennis: “At first I was looking mainly at my older sister, Agata.
I was sneaking into tennis lessons. I started playing for my father and for her. As I grew up a bit, Rafael Nadal became my big reference. I admire his work ethic and how success hasn’t changed him, he’s still a very kind and humble guy.”
The number one then talked about her relationship with her colleagues on the circuit, especially Paula Badosa and Garbine Muguruza: “I like them a lot and have a lot of fun when I train with them. I know Paula a little better than Garbiñe.
Both are very talented, aggressive and very strong minded players. What Paula has achieved since last year is incredible: she reached the top 10, she won at Indian Wells with a very offensive style, taking the lead. Also Garbine, who was sensational in the WTA Finals in Mexico, with the crowd cheering her and providing a great performance.
I’m sure the next fights with the two will be very exciting.” Swiatek finally commented on his beautiful gesture of donating $ 50,000 to a mental health charity last year in honor of World Mental Health Day: “I made that donation because I wanted to support two charities that help children with mental health problems.
One of my big goals is to support and inspire them in everything I can. I am only 20 years old and I am not an expert in this field, but I understand that you ask me this question and therefore it concerns my personal and professional goals .
I want to lead a healthy and balanced career, achieve my sporting goals, but I also want to enjoy this experience and the places it brings me.”