“I’m proud of myself,” Iga Swiatek reveals how special it was for her to win an Olympic medal in the presence of her father

WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has expressed satisfaction at ending the Paris Olympics on a positive note, having won the bronze medal.

“I’m proud of myself,” Iga Swiatek reveals how special it was for her to win an Olympic medal in the presence of her father

Iga Swiatek and her father Tomasz Swiatek (via Imago)

Iga Swiatek rebounded from her semifinal defeat to win the singles bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The World No.1 admitted she was proud to win an Olympic medal in front of her father Tomasz Swiatek, a former rower who competed in the men’s quadruple sculls for Poland at Seoul 1988.

Swiatek shockingly lost to China’s Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals, marking her first loss at Roland Garros since becoming the French Open champion in 2021. The 23-year-old was the favorite to claim a gold medal in Paris, following her resounding victories during the clay season this year. She had won the Madrid Open, and Rome Masters and crowned it with a resounding French Open win.

Despite the defeat to Qinwen, she produced an outstanding display on Friday (August 2) to beat Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-1, 6-2 in just 59 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. During her on-court interview, the five-time Grand Slam champion admitted that the Olympics is an important event to her, having been raised by her Olympian father.

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It’s amazing. Honestly me and my sister were raised in this spirit that the Olympics are the most important tournament. That’s why it wasn’t the easiest tournament. This makes it even better. I’m proud of myself I could do it. I’m happy he was here to see it. This is for sure a great place for me to be and play. I’m happy that besides Roland Garros titles, I could add another success to it.

Iga Swiatek said

Swiatek’s bronze medal proves how well she has improved on her game since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she exited in the second round after losing 6-3, 7-6(4) to Spain’s Paula Badosa.

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Iga Swiatek (3)

Iga Swiatek excited at ending the Paris Olympics on a positive note after claiming bronze

Iga Swiatek admitted she is proud to finish the Paris Olympics on a positive after winning the bronze medal. The Polish star became the first player since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 to win a medal at the Olympics as the WTA World No.1.

Iga Swiatek (via Imago)

After the match, Swiatek stated that she enjoyed playing at the Olympics, and winning a medal gave her peace of mind.

Just getting up here today and really enjoying playing and being able to do everything professionally and playing such tennis that I could really kind of have peace in my mind gave me a lot. I’m happy I could do it and finish this tournament on a positive note.

Iga Swiatek said (via Tennis365)

The Pole will likely not have enough time to celebrate her bronze medal as she is expected to compete at the Canadian Open which gets underway in a week.

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