United Cup 2023: Iga Swiatek catches up with former World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty
The United Cup shared a picture of Iga Swiatek with the former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Ashleigh Barty on their social media platforms.
Barty, the reigning Australian Open champion, announced her shock retirement from the sport after winning her home Slam last year as the No. 1 player on the WTA tour.
Her retirement pushed Swiatek to the top of the rankings, where she has stayed and dominated the sport ever since. Swiatek is currently competing at the United Cup 2023 in Brisbane and got the opportunity to meet Barty, a Brisbane native, ahead of her match against Italy's Martina Trevisan.
World No.1's only ☝️
@iga_swiatek 🫂 @ashbarty
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Barty had previously stated that she was impressed with Swiatek's reign as the World No. 1 and called her a "breath of fresh air".
"She is a breath of fresh air and she has completely and utterly dominated this season. She has been a level above, a head above the rest, and it has been amazing to see her flourish," the Aussie said earlier in 2022.
"She really inspired me to work harder" - Iga Swiatek on Ashleigh Barty
In her pre-tournament press conference at the United Cup, Iga Swiatek called Ash Barty a huge 'inspiration' to her and pushed her to work harder.
The pair played two matches on the tour, with the Aussie winning both their encounters at Madrid 2021 and Adelaide 2022 in straight sets. Swiatek revealed that she had mixed emotions after Barty decided to retire from the sport last year.
"I didn't really think it's possible for me," Iga Swiatek revealed. "When (Ashleigh Barty) retired, I felt mixed emotions because I felt like she still has the best tennis out there. She really inspired me to work harder and her different game style made me realize that there is always room for improvement.
The Pole mentioned that initially, she wasn't sure of her place as the Aussie was a huge role model in the sport.
"At first I felt like I wasn't sure if this is kind of my place to be, you know? Ash, she seemed like a huge role model for everybody in terms of, you know, her behavior on court but also off court. So I felt like she really put - how's it called? She really set the bar pretty high. So, I (needed) to show it to people but also show it to myself that I'm in the right place," she added.