Poland’s tennis star
Iga Swiatek has revealed that she has learned
a lot with the experience of becoming the world number one at such a young age.
The 22-year-old became the top-ranked player in the WTA rankings
last year with her consistent performances on the court.
Her reign at the very top finally ended last month when she
was knocked out of the US Open after losing to Latvia’s Latvia’s Jelena
Ostapenko in the fourth round with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The defeat gave Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka an opportunity to
get at the very top and she grabbed it with both hands.
Swiatek was recently quoted in a report where she stated
that because of her experience, she would like to be more prepared if she gets
the top spot in the rankings back.
“There’s been a lot of pressure in recent seasons,” she
said. “I’d say the progress I've made has been pretty quick and I didn't expect
to be the world number one last year. I had to deal with a lot of things &
grow very quickly.
"The pressure is difficult at certain times. On the other
hand, it is part of our sport and we have to learn how to adapt and to focus on
tennis. If I were number one again, I would be much better prepared. I learn
from it.”
Swiatek has had a mixed year at the highest level where the
highlight was clearly the French Open where she won the title after beating Czech
Republic’s Karolína Muchova in the final with a score of 6–2, 5–7, 6–4.
The Warsaw-born has
already won four Grand Slam titles in her relatively young career. Three of
them came while playing at the Roland Garros whereas she also won the US Open
in 2022.