“I was surprised I was first and Robert [Lewandowski] was second" - Iga Swiatek reacts to being named as 'most outstanding Polish athlete' on Family Feud

Iga Swiatek is a huge name in the tennis world thanks to all the success she has already achieved on the WTA Tour. The 24-year-old's influence has spread outside of tennis, with a round of Family Feud showcasing just how far she has come.

Familiada, the Polish version of Family Feud, is a popular game show enjoyed by many around the world. In one of the recent episodes, one of the questions put to the contestants was to name the most successful athletes from their country in the 21st century. In this case, it was Polish athletes.

The people playing the game were spoilt for choice with some incredible sporting icons coming from their country in a range of sports. One of the most notable ones is Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, who came second in the 2021 Ballon d'Or and scored an incredible 238 goals in 253 games for Bayern Munich in his most notable stint while continuing to bang them into the back of the net in Catalonia.

Despite this, he found himself floundering Swiatek who topped the leaderboard with 26 votes. This came at a surprise for the world number two, who could not put her finger on an obvious candidate for that top spot. “It’s hard to answer that one, honestly,” she said in her press conference ahead of the Qatar Open. “Especially across different sports.”

There is a real case that she deserves this recognition. Already a six-time Grand Slam champion, she has spent a total of 125 weeks as world number one while in total picking up an incredible 11 WTA 1000 titles as well as the 2023 WTA Finals. Her total title tally currently sits at 30, with many more trophies still to be won.

“There was a big discussion on the internet,” Swiatek continued. “I was surprised I was first and Robert was second, so that’s what was a little funny because to me, he’s still a legend. It’s a funny show, so we can all laugh about it.”

Doha has been happy hunting ground for Swiatek in the past. She thrashed former world number two Anett Kontaveit in the 2022 final to win a first title in Qatar, while also starting an incredible run where she won four WTA 1000 titles in a row that she competed in. She defended her title in 2023 over Jessica Pegula before making it a hat-trick of wins in 2024 with a tight triumph over Elena Rybakina.

After losing her grasp on the title last year, with Amanda Anisimova picking up glory in the Middle East, she is determined to work hard to get her winning mojo back. “I’ve been working on my serve, forehand, and my footwork,” she stated, talking about how she will cope with the conditions. “You can’t wait for the ball to come to you here.”

Before any tennis balls were hit in anger, Swiatek went visit the Museum of Islamic Art along with Anisimova in what was an eye-opening experience for the Pole. “These museums are so fresh and you can see that they’re new and in beautiful places next to the water. We took some nice photos and saw some nice pieces of art.”

The fun and games are now over, with Swiatek looking to kick on in 2026 after a slow start, The United Cup victory was slightly marred by some poor performances and damaging defeats. She lost out to the eventual Australian open champion Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park with her fleeting career Grand Slam dreams being shelved for another year. Swiatek is desperate to get back into the winning enclosure while showcasing some of the tennis fans and rivals are all too familiar with. The number one seed will sit out of the first round action, with Indonesian wild card Janice Tjen or lucky loser Beatriz Haddad Maia her first task in the second round.