Olympic skiing champion Mikaela Shiffrin has praised
Iga Swiatek for her apparent modesty while adding that she has a sense of security in herself that is rare among successful young athletes.
Swiatek has already built up a lot of impressive achievements in her young career. The 22-year-old has four Grand Slam titles to her name, having won the
French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023, and the
US Open in 2022.
She was also World No. 1 for 75 weeks, the tenth-longest amount of time in
WTA Ranking history, and has won 16 WTA titles.
Shiffrin praises Swiatek as a person
Along with her sporting successes, the Polish player is also known for having a fairly introverted personality off the court, and she has previously opened up on her past difficulties in social situations.
"There was a time in my life when I was so introverted that speaking to people was a real challenge. Until I was 17 or 18, it was hard sometimes to look people in the eyes. I hated how hard it was for me," she said.
However, her personality has earned her a lot of praise over the years, despite some criticizing her more quiet nature.
"Iga Swiatek is an introvert. So is Naomi Osaka, who has more endorsements than Taylor Swift has hits. But that doesn’t make her boring. She reads books. She has interests beyond tennis.
"She has political opinions—note the Ukrainian flag pin on her ball cap. She doesn’t traffic in talking points and gives “didn’t-have-that-on-my-bingo-card” answers," tennis journalist Jon Wertheim pointed out recently.
Now, Shiffrin, who is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in alpine skiing, has become the latest to praise Swiatek for her personality.
"I don’t know if she feels this way, but what I see is modesty. But also a security in herself that you don’t often see with athletes so young that also have the success.
"I didn’t know who the heck I was. I still kind of don’t. Somehow she just seems like she has certain things that are straight in her head. The answers she has now, already in her career, I wish I had those at that time in mine," the 28-year-old American said.
