“I was under enormous pressure,” Iga Swiatek reveals which year was most challenging for her at Roland Garros and why

Swiatek said that she put herself under so much pressure that she could not even enjoy her win.

“I was under enormous pressure,” Iga Swiatek reveals which year was most challenging for her at Roland Garros and why

Iga Swiatek (Image via Imago)

Polish tennis ace Iga Swiatek recently won her fourth title at the Roland Garros. The 23-year-old beat Jasmine Paolini in the final of the 2024 Roland Garros final to lift her third consecutive title in Paris. It was a clean win for Swiatek as she dropped only one set on her way to the final. However, the same was not the case last year.

Although Swiatek won the title at the 2023 Roland Garros as well, she was not so thrilled about it. After her win this year, when the Pole was asked about the hardest win for her in Paris, Swiatek said it was 2023. The 23-year-old said that she was under enormous pressure last year as she was defending the title for the first time.

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Swiatek said that she felt relief after winning the title last year instead of happiness because she had put herself under a lot of pressure. The World No. 1 said that when she won her maiden French Open title in 2020, she felt that a second time wouldn’t be possible. However, after 2022 she knew she could play well on clay. But the pressure was still there in 2023.

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The entire time I was in Paris I felt that I was under enormous pressure. I remember that when I won, I couldn't even be happy. I felt huge relief. I put a lot of pressure on myself For the first time, I was actually the defending champion, because after 2020 I didn't expect myself to be able to do it again, and after 2022, I proved to myself that I can play well on these courts regularly, because last year I actually felt under enormous pressure and I coped with it worse.
Iga Swiatek said. (H/T: Onet)

No dearth of motivation for Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek is the top-ranked women’s tennis player and it takes a lot of hard work to reach there. But to stay at the top for so long requires some special traits which Swiatek possesses. The 23-year-old, despite tennis getting more intense with every passing year, says she feels no lack of motivation.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

Swiatek said that she does not need any extra motivation because the sport itself pushes the players to hit the reset button and get going every second week. The 23-year-old also said that whenever she steps onto the court, her focus is to win no matter how she has performed in the recent past. 

I don't think there will be a problem with that, because in a way tennis is like that when you come to a new place, it's a bit of a reset and you still want to prove that you can play great tennis. So I've never had a problem with motivation, because I always look to the future. When I step on the court, I will want to win, regardless of what happened before. So I'm not worried about that.
Iga Swiatek talked about her source of motivation.

Coming to her schedule now, the Pole is focused on winning a few tournaments on grass before she takes the court at 2024 Wimbledon. Swiatek says that she is hoping to improve her record on grass courts this season.

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