Iga Swiatek: “I’ve heard other people’s expectations on how I look, how I should behave”

Despite being the top-ranked player in the world, Iga Swiatek discussed the importance of self-confidence and revealed the pressures she faced regarding her appearance and behavior throughout her career in sports.

Swiatek emphasized the importance of being brave enough to try new things and not giving up, even when mistakes are made. She shared that she has always relied on her intuition to guide her beliefs. In a recent Instagram post for the LEGO campaign for children, she also discussed the importance of self-confidence, stating:

“Ever since I’ve started my journey with sports, I’ve heard other people’s expectations about how I should play, how I should look, how I should behave, what I should do. The higher I was in the sport, the more there were. However, I never liked to close myself with certain limits, I wanted to base my belief and experiences, on my intuition.”

According to Iga Swiatek, self-confidence involves having the courage to attempt new things and also encompasses being attuned to one’s emotions and expressing them.

“To me, self confidence means courage, among other things. Courage in trying new things and not giving up even after making a mistake, courage in being sensitive and expressing emotions.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion emphasized the significance of adults in the development of children by granting them the chance to discover and supporting them even when they make errors.

“This is why the LEGO campaign is so close to me because it shows that in order for children to believe in themselves, we adults should give them the opportunity to explore, build their world, their personality and support them when they make mistakes,”Swiatek wrote.

Swiatek has been victorious in two WTA 1000 tournaments in the current year, claiming both victories on hard courts. She emerged victorious at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Elena Rybakina, and also secured a win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, triumphing over Maria Sakkari.

“Clay courts are my comfort zone”- Iga Swiatek on her natural affinity for playing on clay

Iga Swiatek, who is currently the French Open champion, expressed that playing on clay courts comes naturally to her. She explained that she is accustomed to playing on clay courts throughout the year and that the surface complements her playing style.

“This (clay courts) was my favorite surface. It was pretty natural for me,”she told the media at Indian Wells.

“I was raised on it played in summer on clay, in winter on clay. I wouldn’t say there was any learning process because thatwas my game style,”she added.

Iga Swiatek has achieved back-to-back victories at the French Open and has emerged victorious in 25 of her last 26 matches at Roland Garros.

This year, Swiatek has an extra motivation to perform well on clay courts as the Olympics will take place on the same surface in Paris following the French Open tournament.