“But I always liked her”: Iga Swiatek reveals which player she admired in early days of tennis career

Poland’s tennis star Iga Swiatek has revealed that Spain’s Garbine Muguruza was one of her favourite players in her early playing days. The 22-year-old is regarded by many as the best player currently playing in the women’s singles category, having won as many as four Grand Slam titles so early in her career.

Swiatek was recently quoted in a report where she revealed that the former world number one Muguruza, who won two Grand Slams in 2016 and 2017, was her favourite player during her early days in professional tennis.

“Actually, when I was younger, I watched her achievements thinking that maybe she was going to be my favorite WTA player because I always liked Rafa,” she said. “I never really had anyone on the WTA to follow, so Garbiñe was one of them for a while until I started playing on the tour, as it was pretty rare to be a crazy fan of anyone. She is a great player and a good person. I wasn't surprised that she retired because she wasn't playing for a long time, but I always liked her. She won two Slams, played all these Grand Slam finals and everything. She was able to maintain her level, which is not easy.”