Iga Swiatek: "Worries me that because of memes with me, Robert Lewandowski gets a little hate"
As much as Iga Swiatek is delighted by the funny memes that have been all the rage in Poland involving her and compatriot Robert Lewandowski, the World No. 1 is a little worried that it has also led to some fans spewing hatred at the footballer.
Lewandowski is widely considered to be one of the greatest strikers Poland has ever produced, having led the line for Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayen Munich and now Barcelona. The No. 9 is no slouch for the national team either, having scored 82 goals for Poland and racking up innumerable awards.
The same can be said of Swiatek when it comes to tennis, with the Pole being the first player from the country to win a Grand Slam as well as be ranked No. 1 in the world rankings. In 2022, she recorded the longest win streak in WTA history, going unbeaten for 37 matches.
Naturally, that led to a lot of debate in the country over who their bigger sports star was, with fans split between Lewandowski and Swiatek. The memes that rose from this debate have admittedly caught the eye of the 22-year-old WTA star, who wishes that they did not create a negative connotation towards Lewandowski, even if it was only for humor.
The four-time Grand Slam champion is appreciative of everything the Barcelona striker has done for the country, saying how she has seen many people recognize Poland solely because of Lewandowski.
With that in mind, Iga Swiatek believes that he does not "deserve" to be made fun of with such memes, regardless of the fact that it's only entertainment for fans.
"Some memes are funny, but on the other - there are a lot of memes that praise me, but some of them create a negative connotation towards Robert Lewandowski and I don't like it. Robert has done so much for us athletes and everything for the whole country. Still, when I go to different countries and people don't recognize me, but when I say that I'm from Poland, people say: 'Oh! Lewandowski, Lewandowski!'"
"It worries me that because of these memes with me, he gets a little hate. I know it's just entertainment for the fans, but I think that one day I could be in the same situation as him and he didn't deserve anything to be in such memes," Iga Swiatek said in an interview with Dzien Dobry TVN (translated thanks to 'Z kortu' on Twitter.
Iga Swiatek: "When I utter a curse word on the court or when I say 'Jazda' - these are things that I don't fully control"
Iga Swiatek, during the aforementioned interview, also spoke about how she handles her emotional state on the court, saying that she yells curses just to release tension and is not always fully conscious when doing so.
The World No. 1 sees no reason to change these things about her game, as she feels it would only complicate matters for her and take time away from focussing on the things that really matter.
"When I utter a curse word on the court or when I say 'Jazda' - these are things that I don't fully control. They are a release of tension or energy. Sometimes, post-match celebrations - these are also things that I do without thinking about this. I also often tell myself some technical things that I would like to work on, e.g. to make a shorter jump before the return or to simply position myself to the ball."
"These are such small things, not very complicated, because it is not worth making everything more difficult for yourself on the court. They will keep my head busy with the right things, rather than thinking about who knows what," Iga Swiatek said.