Iga Swiatek: "After winning so many tournaments last year, everybody expected me to stay on the same level all the time, which is not possible"
Iga Swiatek had one of the best WTA seasons of all-time last year, going on a 37-match winning streak and rising to World No. 1. The streak, which is the longest unbeaten run in the women's tour in the 21st century, saw her win four WTA 1000 tournaments and the French Open before coming to an end at Wimbledon.
The Pole followed it up with a brilliant run in the United States, winning the US Open and the San Diego Open before reaching the semifinals of the WTA Finals. The expectations certainly went sky-high for Swiatek, who has had a quieter 2023 compared to that.
While the 22-year-old defended her title at the French Open and the Qatar Open, she has not been able to do so at other venues. She is currently in the process of defending her title at the US Open, having reached the second round with a sound straight-sets win over Rebecca Peterson in her opener.
Speaking to Vogue magazine during her time in New York, Iga Swiatek made it a point of noting that everyone expected her to stay in the high level she produced in 2022 all the time. However, she emphasized that it was simply not possible.
“After winning so many tournaments as I did last year, everybody kind of expected me to stay on the same level all the time, which is not possible,” Iga Swiatek said.
The four-time Grand Slam champion further added that she has stayed the "same person" despite all the changes that have happened in her life since then, emphasizing the importance of mentally coping with stress to remain a champion.
“I feel like everybody on the top level plays great tennis, but it’s those who can mentally cope with the most stressful moments who are the champions. Even though so much has changed in my life, I feel like I've stayed the same person,” Iga Swiatek said.
"I'm much calmer off court, I don't like noise, I don’t like crowded places" - Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek also spoke about the contrast between her introverted off-court personality and her aggressive style of play on the court, admitting that there was as huge difference between the two.
While she was very aggressive as a tennis player and one prone to switching into "beast mode" for the match, she asserted that she was a calm person who did not like noisy or crowded places off it.
"I'm a different person on court. I'm really competitive. I enjoy the points and being aggressive in terms of my game style. But I never really analyzed that because I felt like it's natural; I’m kind of switching into this beast mode for the match, and you have to do that to perform your best game. I'm much calmer off court. I don't like noise, I don’t like crowded places. So, yeah, totally different," Iga Swiatek said.