Swiatek opens up on social anxiety: "Until I was 17 or 18, it was hard sometimes to look people in the eyes"

Iga Swiatek opened up in a letter written for the Players Tribune where she talked about anything from her dreams to her doubts, revealing a struggle with social anxiety.

Swiatek is a keen advocate of mental health opening up early in her career about her use of a sports psychologist. She talked positively about all of that and keeps advocating for people to keep healthy in that sense. It's rather clear why she's so adamant about it as she revealed in her letter that she struggled with social anxiety:

"You might imagine that I stayed up all night as a kid dreaming about being a big tennis player, but no. To tell you the truth, at night, I dreamed about feeling a bit more natural 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 added:

"It felt really bad not being able to make connections. But with some people, my mind was just blank, and I didn’t know what to say. Small talk wasn’t natural to me. My story isn’t like a lot of other athletes, and that’s okay."