Iga Swiatek: the constant battle against self-destruction to be number one in the world

More than a year. That’s the time that Iga Swiatek (Warsaw, 2001) dominated women’s tennis. On April 4, 2022, he climbed to number one in the world rankings. And now, with thirteen titles, he is considered a big favorite to win Mutua Madrid Open. He faces this afternoon Martić in the quarterfinals (20:00 h, Movistar+, Eurosport. Teledeporte does not specify the match that the women’s national teams will broadcast).

Introverted, brought up on discipline and a healthy routine, her story, as she says, is not like other athletes. As a child, she didn’t fantasize about being a tennis player, but about being comfortable in social contexts, because there was a time in Swiateka’s life when the simple act of talking to a person or looking them in the eye was a real challenge. “I hated how hard it was for me. My mind was blank and I didn’t know what to say“, he recalls in an interview.

Sport was always present in his life. His father, Tomasz Swiatek, was a four rower skull in Olympic Games in Seoul 1988. When she realized that both her daughters were talented, she set out to make them better athletes. With little money in the family, he had to juggle to get good trainers and pitches.

Tennis was not the first sport to win the Iga. He stayed at school and played football with his friends, which angered his father. “He came looking for me at school, shouting. He was the one who insisted that I train tennis. He always believed in me, taught me to be a professional, to have discipline and regularity. That voice in my head always guided me on the right path. He was the one who dreamed of me being a professional,” he says.

Christmas influence

Until one day, when he was 15, it clicked in his head. He participated in his first Grand Slam younger (Roland Garros). He experienced professionalism for the first time in Paris. He was surprised by the quality of care for the athletes. “I trained in Poland with three diplomas. “The conditions are not good for athletes because of the lack of money,” he points out.

“It wasn’t just the place and the atmosphere. I was surrounded by great champions. I was close still and serene… I left Paris thinking about how to work harder and be better, but I never thought it was possible to win Grand Slam Or be number one. I’m from a country that has no tradition in the world of tennis,” Swiatek said.

emotional hell

But it was possible. Years later, in 2020, and in the same Parisian country that made her continue to bet on this sport, the Pole was declared the champion of Roland Garros. Everything changed and his house became a meeting place for paparazzi. “They followed us in the car. My father was driving, we were going very fast and swerving from one side to the other. It looked like a scene from a Hollywood movie. It sounds scary, but we had fun and now every time I think of that day, I remember her smile.», comments the tennis player.

And there, after the great triumph, the ghosts appeared. “I felt I won Roland Garros by mistake,” he says. Swiatek demands that everything be perfect. All the time. On and off the track. “That quality has brought me to this point in my life, but it’s really destructive,” reflects the Polish woman.

😳𠑨 𠑯𠑼𠑮𠑬 𠑼𠑷𠑺𠑬𠑻!!!

Throw🔙 as 19-year-old unseeded Iga Swiatek beat top seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-2 at Roland Garros 2020.@iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/aiRY6pskeT

— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 5, 2022

In 2021, he started working with his coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski. And his goal was to be number one next year. But Iga, underestimating himself, did not believe. She started the season ready to prove herself. And that took its toll on him, mentally and physically. He wanted to play like in Paris, but the conditions were not the same. She felt insecure and pressured. There was only one thought in his head: if he doesn’t win more titles, it will be a disappointment for everyone.

At the Australian Open, he fell in the fourth round, but his biggest fight was at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The convincing victory of the Spaniard Paula Badosa (6-3 7-6 (4)) left her in tears on the court. She arrived at the WTA finals in Guadalajara mentally exhausted. He felt powerless. “I was worried about how people would see me. I was embarrassed,” he recalls.

🠆 Roland-Garros 2020
🠆 Roland-Garros 2022
ðŸ†US Open 2022

Iga Swiatek conquers New York and establishes herself as the best tennis player on the planet! 💠💠ðŸ’#USOpen #USOpenEurosport pic.twitter.com/YH47xneLhc

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) September 10, 2022

climb to the top

However, the withdrawal in 2022 Ashleigh Barty, the former number one, changed the life of the Polish tennis player forever. Hearing the news, he broke down and collapsed. “There was confusion about what was going to happen, because I had only been number two in the world for three days. Sobbing, I called my father. It was early morning in Poland, and I couldn’t stop crying,” the tennis player recalls.

“Barty could have done this in a different way. Every year we feel how hard it is to be on tour. There are many obligations and the work done in the field needs to be coordinated. This is not just putting the ball in the square“, he comments. “On this journey towards excellence, you are in control. The secret to my senior year is giving myself the freedom to not care what people think. That’s what prompted me to win another one Grand Slam, The third. And that’s what got me to number one. Letting go,” he reveals.

Because, after a journey through hell, Iga Swiatek tasted glory again. And twice. He won in 2022 Roland Garros and US Open. “I am 21 years old and when I look back, with everything that has happened, I appreciate what I have achieved even more. I still don’t know if I want to be famous or a world star, but I will continue,” concludes the winner of three grands.