Swiatek begins his reign: “Badosa will be a great rival”

Iga Swiatek He is 20 years old, but he doesn’t look it. In the best of the senses. His degree of maturity, both on and off the slopes, is out of the ordinary. Until his prodigious triumph at Roland Garros 2020, the possibility of starting a university career was very present. With excellent academic results in secondary school, the Polish tennis player, newly number one in the world after the withdrawal of Ashleigh Bartydevours books without stopping. Never (2021), by Ken Follett, has been one of his last readings, but he also searches history, as with Wuthering Heights (1847), the Emily Bronte. He has always loved math, even uses it to improve his game and listens to AC/DC before games. In it Hard Rock Stadium from Miami, nothing could go wrong.

Third WTA 1,000 of the season. She has not left any for the rest, being the first tennis player in history with such a start, which already has 17 wins in a row. After Doha, from West (Indian Wells) to East in the United States to achieve the Sunshine Double youngest ever. Also, overwhelmingly. 6-2 and 6-0 against Anett Kontaveit; 6-4 and 6-1 to Maria Sakkari; 6-4 and 6-0 against Naomi Osaka. In the six finals she has won in her short but successful career, she has not conceded a set. “They are complicated, because you feel a lot of pressure. I try to stay focused, that’s vital for me, and focus on these games like the rest. In the end, sticking to sports, it’s still tennis,” she explains, displaying her precocious wisdom, when asked if she has any secret tricks to face decisive duels. Still in Miami, where he has used “his experience to offer a more solid game”, he chats with AS, keeping the smile of victory. “In Indian Wells, for example, I felt more stress,” he confesses. She learns fast, she is still a diligent student.

In tennis matters, he already has honors, the top of the world ranking, but he must defend it. At the moment, he enjoys it, although without excesses. “The results in recent tournaments have strengthened me, they push me to seek my limits,” he says, but “I’m still the same Iga,” he adds. His reign has been released with an important mattress. After the last update, now without Barty, she is 1,736 points behind the Czech Barbora Krejcikova, the immediate pursuer, and 1,741 behind Paula Badosa, “a great rival” in the fight for number one. Her relationship with the Catalan, who debuts on the podium, her best position ever, is very special. In many tournaments, they share training matches. And the mutual admiration is maximum: “Paula is a very powerful player. Physically, she is that type of player with enormous deployment, who does not give up and goes after all the balls; mentally, she also has great strength, as was seen last season, showing who is at the highest level. Besides, he is a fantastic person”, Swiatek undoes. Young, talented and already at the top. “The two of us can raise this young generation,” she sums up. Concise and precise.

Nadal inspiration: “He is the best of all time”

Between the two, a multitude of links, such as the admiration for Rafa Nadal. As one more fan, Iga was present in the “amazing” Balearic final against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, “that kind of thing that makes him the best of all time,” he says unabashedly. For the Pole, also called to mark an era, the Spaniard is an inspiration: “Success has not changed him as a person. I really like all that, how he is off the track. His character, his sportsmanship, all that sets him apart of the rest. Also his incredible fighting spirit, of course, “he says. Guidelines that already mark their day to day, as he demonstrates when talking about the partnership between Hologic, a medical company focused on women’s wellness, and the WTA. “They share the same values. It is a very good union to continue promoting women through tennis and to transmit very important messages, the improvement in diagnoses… I hope it lasts a long time,” she develops. Her reasons, very clear: “We are a women’s organization and it is good that we transmit that empowerment,” she says. He knows what he wants for his reign.