Iga Swiatek grew up idolizing
Rafael Nadal and she doesn't want to see him suffering a lot even though she appreciated his warrior-like mentality when it comes to tennis.
There are more and more rumours about Rafael Nadal not making it to
Roland Garros and more and more players are being asked about it. One of those is Iga Swiatek who was also asked about it and she admitted that she wants him at Roland Garros. She's a fan and she wants to see him play but not at the cost of any health issues:
"I'm a big Rafa fan. For sure I wish he could play. But honestly, like, I really, really respect what kind of warrior he is. He's always trying to push and trying to get better and play better and just trying to compete on the highest level. But on the other hand I don't know how much, like, pain he's living with. I don't want to, like, see him suffering a lot. I'm kind of like biased because I would love to see him play, but on the other hand I know if he's going to really, like, suffer, it's not going to be so fun to see him like that."
It remains to be seen whether Nadal really plays at the event as his uncle Toni proclaimed he will a few weeks ago. A recent video showed Nadal in great discomfort during practice making it hard to believe that he will be magically better in only two weeks' time. Swiatek just wants him to be happy and healthy foremost:
"I just hope he's going to kind of be healthy and happy. That's like the main goal no matter what happens with tennis."