"It’s consuming & exhausting" - Iga Swiatek not focused on competing with fellow IMG-client Emma Raducanu's off-court earnings, declares Pole's team
Iga Swiatek might not have to look up to Emma Raducanu after their respective 2022 seasons on the court, but off the court, the Brit has a very commanding lead over the World No. 1. However, Swiatek will change nothing in her approach, maintains her psychologist Daria Abramovicz, in the pursuit of catching up with the former US Open winner and her lofty endorsement deals.
Swiatek, who recently signed up with talent management company IMG, was the fifth-highest earning female athlete last year, making $14.9 million ($5 million from sponsorships). Raducanu, who is also managed by IMG, made $18.7 million, an overwhelming majority of which came from endorsement deals.
Speaking to journalist Carole Bouchard (interview with Tennis Majors) recently, Daria Abramovicz dismissed claims that overtaking - or equaling, for that matter - Raducanu in terms of off-court earnings was something that weighed on the three-time Grand Slam champion's mind.
Calling comparison one of the signs of "perfectionism," Abramovicz opined that it was a consuming and exhausting behavior that Swiatek's team sought to eliminate, rather than help foster in her.
"Comparing ourselves is one of the signs of perfectionism actually. Perfectionism is driven by this drilling voice in your head that is constantly asking, ‘What will others say? What will others do’. And it’s driven also by the threat of a shame kicking in: ‘We won’t do enough, or the same or better.' And it’s consuming and exhausting," Abramovicz said.
Instead, Abramovicz made it clear that her job was to help Iga Swiatek strive towards excellence -- which was as far away from perfectionism as possible. With all her energy dedicated to metrics she can control on the court, the psychologist did not want the 21-year-old wasting time on tangibles she couldn't.
"One of the biggest areas and ideas of my work is that there is a huge difference between perfectionism and striving for excellence. Perfectionism can go away, and it goes away if you work on it," Abramovicz said. "And what we want to achieve in our work with Iga is obviously to go towards striving for excellence and not putting energy into something you don’t have any control or influence on. At the same time, again: priorities and identity.”
Daria Abramovicz, however, admitted that sponsors are constantly knocking on their doors and landing at loggerheads with the Pole's sports team. She also revealed that talks were going on to find a middle ground, while also making sure that Iga Swiatek's needs were at the center without directly distracting her from her path to greatness.
“Interests are colliding, that’s true: sponsors want another PR day, sports team says no, that’s the reality,” Abramowicz said. “And there needs to be a discussion held there where the player’s expectations and needs are always in the center. Every new day there’s a new challenge, but we always try to find a common ground. There are a lot of discussions and our player is not involved in any of this. Because what [Iga Swiatek] needs is a quiet and safe and secure environment to fulfill her priorities.”
"The first thing is that it needs to work for her" - Daria Abramovicz on how Iga Swiatek's support system helps her
Daria Abramovicz had but one requirement when scheduling how Iga Swiatek should go about her endorsement work -- that it work for her. Regardless of what the rest of the team felt, Abramovicz was of the opinion that the World No. 1's interests should be "perfectly" tailored for, which then became the primary goal of her entourage.
“The first thing is that it needs to work for [Iga Swiatek]. It needs to be very close to what she wants, and the job of everyone else that works around her is to bring her the best possible solution," Abramowicz said. "It always has to be perfectly tailored for a particular person who is the core of everything.”
The sports psychologist further added that PR duties wouldn't hurt athletes if they were mindful of why they were doing it and ensuring that they did not misalign with the identities they wanted for themselves, thus making certain that they did not feel like sacrificing one for the other.
“If you have your priorities straight, your identity defined, your self-esteem, and you are fully aware what makes you happy and fulfilled, and you’re mindful about it: It doesn’t hurt," Abramowicz said. “You don’t feel that you’re sacrificing one for another. You need to be mindfully close to yourself, practicing self-compassion when it’s needed.”