Rafael Nadal looking forward to hosting Iga Swiatek at his academy after Pole's French Open triumph
Rafael Nadal congratulated Iga Swiatek on her recent Roland Garros triumph. The Spaniard joined an elite list of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and many more who sent their congratulatory wishes to the youngster.
Swiatek defeated Karolina Muchova on Saturday to win her third French Open title, increasing her Grand Slam tally to four. Up against the Czech professional, Swiatek kept her calm as she beat Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, to win the title in Paris for the third time in four years.
The 'King of Clay,' who is currently sidelined due to injury and had to skip the French Open himself, turned to social media to wish Swiatek on her achievement. He shared a picture of the World No. 1 kissing her trophy with the iconic Eiffel Tower in the background from last year as well as another picture of the Pole posing with the 2023 trophy on Saturday.
"Congrats Iga Swiatek, you are amazing!!," he captioned his Instagram story.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner continued to congratulate Swiatek on her achievement while expressing excitement at the idea of seeing her at his academy graduation soon.
"Congrats once again Iga and looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday here in Mallorca, Spain at the rafanadalacademy for the graduation," the Spaniard wrote on Instagram.
"It was inspiring" - Iga Swiatek after visiting Rafael Nadal's tennis academy in 2022
Iga Swiatek has been a keen admirer of Rafael Nadal since her early days in tennis. The World No. 1 has often proudly stated that the Spanish wizard is her idol. In 2022, the Pole visited the Spaniard's academy in Mallorca ahead of the Italian Open.
Speaking to the media at the pre-tournament press conference in Rome, the three-time French Open winner sang the praises of the Mallorcian's tennis academy. She said that looking at all those trophies was much different than just reading his records off of Wikipedia.
“For sure it was inspiring. You could see all the trophies, which is amazing. Seeing numbers on Wikipedia is one thing, but seeing all the trophies, how consistent he was sometimes in some tournaments, it's amazing," the 22-year-old said.
Winning her fourth Grand Slam title, meanwhile, brought in a few more good news for Iga Swiatek. She is now the first WTA player since Justine Henin to win the French Open in two consecutive years—the first in over a decade. Besides, by successfully defending her title, Swiatek retained her top spot in the WTA singles rankings.