"Though he's the greatest in the world, he's always changing something" - Iga Swiatek reiterates why Rafael Nadal has the 'greatest' influence on her
Iga Swiatek, a self-professed Rafael Nadal fan, once again opened up about her admiration for the 22-time Grand Slam champion. She even called him the "most inspirational" player on tour for her.
Speaking at a press conference after her 6-1, 6-1 win over Leylah Fernandez in her Dubai Tennis Championships opener, the World No. 1 spoke about the player who has had the "greatest" influence on her. She reiterated that it was none other than Nadal.
Swiatek pointed out how the Spaniard continues to make changes to his game even though he is already the greatest player in the world. She also marveled at his perseverance and uncanny ability to constantly develop new weapons.
"I would say the most inspirational player for me on tour is Rafa Nadal because he's never giving up, and he can win matches even though everybody is thinking like he's going to lose it. He's always developing," Swiatek said.
"Even though he's the greatest in the world, he's always changing something and trying to improve."
At the same time, the Pole admitted that her own team members were inspirations for her as well. She remarked that they pushed her to do more and motivated her every single day.
"Every day, I would say my team. These are the people who are great examples for me. They're, like, specialists at their job. They are the people that are, like, pushing me to do more and motivating me," Iga Swiatek said. "It depends. Every day I'm using someone different."
Iga Swiatek also touched on what inspired her to take up tennis in the first place. She revealed that she started playing the sport simply because her sister was already playing and that her father helped her initially. Tennis was also the sport the three-time Grand Slam champion was most comfortable at.
All of this made it a no-brainer for her to choose to become a professional at it when she got older.
"Honestly, when I was really, really young, it's not like I saw a tennis match and there it was. More like my dad showed me tennis, and my sister also played. I would say it was more like people inspired me," Swiatek said.
"My dad for sure was the person that kind of wanted me to play and do sports. Tennis was the sport that I just felt more comfortable at. Year by year it kind of developed into a passion, then worked a little bit. So, yeah."
"I'm not really looking for what other players are doing" - Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek also spoke about other players posing a challenge to her on the WTA Tour this season, something that was sorely lacking last year. The 21-year-old declared that she was not focusing on what other players are doing and that she was content with concentrating on her own game.
At the same time, she acknowledged the rise of stars like Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka. Jabeur reached two Slam finals in 2022, while Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open last month.
"Honestly, each of us have different goals. For me, like, I'm not really looking for what other players are doing," Swiatek said. "
I know there's also Ons, many players, that are kind of capable of winning tournaments, getting more and more points. For sure, Aryna is in a nice position after Australian Open. I'm really just focusing on myself. I don't care really."
Next up, Swiatek will face Liudmila Samsonova in the Round of 16 of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday, February 22.