"When I look at my calendar, it looks crazy" - Iga Swiatek on surviving 8 hectic weeks on the trot between triple titles at Madrid, Rome & French Open
Iga Swiatek defeated Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 French Open final to win her third Roland-Garros title in a row. She has been on tour for eight hectic weeks, where she played in the Billie Jean King Cup, Stuttgart Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open. The World No. 1 believes the secret lies in enjoying life off the court as well.
Swiatek, who won the Claycourt Slam in 2022 and 2023, was up against 12th seed Paolini in the final on Saturday, June 8. Her title defense was successful after she lost three games on her way to a 6-2, 6-1 win.
With the title, Swiatek completed a coveted claycourt treble, which, in WTA, was last achieved only by Serena Williams in 2013. The Pole was asked what she learned in this period on tour. She claimed that she enjoyed her life off the court, which helped her a lot.
"I honestly learned that I can make it because at the beginning when eight weeks ago I went to Fed Cup and then I didn't come back home for all these weeks. I was like 'Oh my god, this!', I mean, when I look at my calendar on my phone it looks crazy," Swiatek said during her post-match press conference.
"How am I going to survive that? But, here I am, and honestly, I think I learned that if I enjoy life off the court I really enjoyed being in Madrid, Rome, and here. It helped me also to be fresh on-court," she added.
The World No. 1 continued:
"So, there I think I had like less drama compared to last year, and I could really just enjoy life. So, then I felt you know more energy on the court."
The last time Swiatek faced a loss was on April 20, in the final of the Stuttgart Open. Since then, she has been on a run of 19 consecutive wins and three titles.
Iga Swiatek becomes only the 3rd woman in the Open Era to win three consecutive French Open titles
Iga Swiatek joined an elite and short list of women who have achieved a three-peat of the French Open in the Open era. She joined Monica Seles (1990-92) and Justine Henin (2005-07) on the list.
This was Iga Swiatek's fourth Roland-Garros title. She is tied third with Henin on the list of most titles won by women in the Open era in Paris. The 23-year-old would hope to catch up to the top two, Steffi Graf (6), and Chris Evert (7).