Iga Swiatek: “I didn't believe I had won Roland Garros”

Iga Swiatek he rose to stardom by surprise last year. The Polish, who rose little by little in the WTA ranking, hit a definitive arreón to settle in the elite by win his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros. An achievement, which Swiatek was barely able to digest. “When I won in Paris, I had a totally overwhelming feeling. I couldn't believe I had won a Grand Slam! I definitely needed some time to look at everything in perspective “, recognized the Polish in space Player's Voice from Eurosport. This feat undoubtedly brought him much more recognition and fame: “Everything was quite hectic after the final and when I returned to Poland. Suddenly I started to be very popular, which was really special, but the situation also became wilder. “

Such was the 'drunkenness' of success that Swiatek admits that it was not until the first tournaments of this season came that he came down from the cloud: “It was a completely new experience for me that I had to learn to deal with on my own, but I think I handled things quite well. At first it was quite difficult for me to refocus on my training, but luckily Roland Garros was my last tournament of the season, which meant that I had almost four months of calm and preparation. The first time I started to feel “normal” was actually during quarantine in Australia, which shows that I needed a lot of time to readjust and resettle myself. “

Finally, Swiatek did not hide that his great illusion this year, above any other tournament, is to attend the Tokyo Olympics: “After Paris and Wimbledon, we will have the Olympics and I can't wait to represent my country. Like Rolan Garros, I try to approach it like a normal tournament, but it's easy to get lost in thought and obsess over the fact that it only takes place once every four years and might be the only chance to perform well. I want to eliminate any risk to get there. “ His father, Tomasz Swiatek, is a former Olympic rower who participated in the 1988 Seoul Games, so now Iga aspires to extend the family legacy …