"I realized that I'm not the kind of a person who's going to fight back; I'm a runner, you know?" - Iga Swiatek on Ons Jabeur's hilarious Halloween prank
Despite being rivals and the top two singles players in the world, Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur share a healthy relationship, with a lot of mutual respect.
Thanks to World No. 2 Jabeur's mischievous side, the two players recently shared a hilarious moment. Before the prestigious WTA Finals began on October 31, World No. 1 Swiatek and sixth-ranked Caroline Garcia appeared for interviews, which were a part of the prank, one by one. But little did they know what was coming next.
With Halloween just around the corner, Tunisia's Jabeur, or “the Minister of Scariness,” donned a scary costume and managed to frighten Garcia and then Swiatek while they were immersed in their interviews.
While the Frenchwoman was definitely caught off guard, she kept sitting in her chair. Swiatek, on the other hand, screamed and ran for her life as Jabeur laughed hysterically. They hugged and posed for a couple of photographs while still giggling.
The Minister of SCARINESS 💀
@Ons_Jabeur wishes @CaroGarcia & @iga_swiatek a Happy Halloween! 🫣 https://t.co/m3ySaDcUnv
After winning her first match against Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday, the Pole was asked to comment on the humorous incident. Swiatek, who gets scared easily, stated that contrary to when she is on the court, she would run rather than fight in such a situation.
"I get scared easily," Iga Swiatek said. "So basically, it's not like I was thinking, it was all adrenaline, you know? And I realized that I'm not the kind of a person who's going to fight back. I'm a runner, you know? Maybe, not on the court, but for sure when I got scared. So thank you Ons for getting my adranline up. Maybe it's going to help me in the tournament. I'm not going to do the same because I'm not the kind of person who scares people but I really like outfits."
"I’m happy that I got used to the conditions pretty quickly" - Iga Swiatek after her first win
In her first round-robin match of the WTA Finals, Iga Swiatek downed Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 22 minutes. The Pole has had a phenomenal season so far, winning eight singles titles, including two Grand Slams and four WTA 1000 tournaments. She also improved her win-loss record for the year to 65-8.
In an on-court interview after the match, the top-ranked player stated that adjusting well to the conditions at the beginning of the match helped her maintain her level till the end.
"I started well. I felt like I can really play aggressively but, on the other hand, with these balls here you have to be really careful. So I wanted to balance it, and I think I did that pretty well at the beginning. And that gave me confidence for the rest of the match. I’m happy that I got used to the conditions pretty quickly. Right now, I need to adjust to the ball. I have to just put more energy in that and in controlling the ball," Swiatek said.