"There's a little bit less pressure" - Iga Swiatek on grass season
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has claimed that she feels less pressure ahead of the grass-court season. The Pole recently won her third French Open title by beating Karolina Muchova 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the final, thus becoming the first woman to successfully defend her title at the clay-court Major since Justine Henin in 2007.
Swiatek looks in good touch at the moment and will be considered a heavy favorite to win Wimbledon. However, Swiatek hasn't fared too well at the grass-court Major, with her best performance being reaching the fourth round in 2021. Last year, the Pole was the top seed at SW 19 but suffered a third-round exit at the hands of Alize Cornet.
Swiatek said that she feels less pressure this time around and knows how to play tennis on different surfaces.
“Basically before every grass-court season I just want to keep being open minded and just learn a lot. I feel like there is maybe a little bit less pressure, but on the other hand when I just go on court, I feel like I know how I can play tennis and I know how I can play on other surfaces," Iga Swiatek said.
“On grass sometimes it’s tougher and I still have to learn a lot, but I just feel like you’re going to go on court and not play the way you should or the way you could; so this thing is adding more pressure.But I would say that the pressure from the outside, yes it’s maybe a little bit less, it depends on you guys and what questions you ask," she added.
Iga Swiatek is scheduled to compete at the Bad Homburg Open
Iga Swiatek is scheduled to start her grass-court season at the Bad Homburg Open and will be a heavy favorite to win. Other players competing at the WTA 250 event include Liudmila Samsonova, Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, and Bianca Andreescu.
Swiatek has enjoyed a tremendous 2023 season so far, with 35 wins out of 41 matches. Apart from her triumph at the French Open, the 22-year-old has also won the Qatar Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Additionally, she reached the finals of two WTA 1000 tournaments in Dubai and Madrid.
Swiatek will have high hopes entering Wimbledon, and it will be interesting to see how she will fare at the tournament this time.