Iga Swiatek can overtake Chris Evert’s record of 7 French Open titles asserts Pam Shriver

Shriver claims there is no other player currently who could match Iga's level of comfort on clay court.

Iga Swiatek can overtake Chris Evert’s record of 7 French Open titles asserts Pam Shriver

Iga Swiatek, C- Pam Shriver and Chris Evert. (Credits: The Independent, Wikipedia and Sports Illustrated)

Pam Shriver believes former World No. 1, Iga Swiatek can surpass Chris Evert’s French Open record. Talking to the ‘Inside In’ podcast, Shriver acknowledged Swiatek’s potential and stated that she could easily win multiple Grand Slam titles.

“I do think Iga Swiatek can certainly chase down Chrissie’s record,” said Shriver. Swiatek has won four GS titles so far. Her journey of ascent began two years ago when she won the Roland Garros. The victory was quite remarkable as the schedule of the RG was a bit off due to the pandemic.

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Shriver exponentiates that there is no other player currently who could match Iga’s level of comfort on the clay court. Of the 4 GS titles that she has won, 3 of them are the French Open, that too back-to-back wins.

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“Obviously, you don’t know what’s around the corner as far as if Andreeva, for example, just becomes a great clay court player. But who else looks as comfortable on clay?” Shriver questioned.

It will be interesting to see if the Polish, overcomes Evert’s record, as she is just 4 titles behind. Chris Evert has won 7 Roland Garros.

Also read: Australian Open boss Craig Tiley clarifies his statement after ‘announcing’ Rafael Nadal’s confirmation at the Grand Slam next year

Iga Swiatek’s 2024 Paris Olympic entry in doubt

The likelihood of Iga Swiatek competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has decreased. She made the decision not to compete for Team Poland in the Billie Jean King Cup. She will instead concentrate on the WTA Finals in Cancun, which begins on October 29. The top 8 players from the season are competing in this event for the title.

Iga Swiatek could be dropped from the Polish team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Iga Swiatek could be dropped from the Polish team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Via Euro Sport)

The issue arises because the WTA finals in Spain take place just two days before the BJK Cup starts. This means players would have to quickly travel from one continent to another, which could be really tough. Because of this scheduling conflict, Swiatek won’t be able to join the Polish team for the BJK Cup. Instead, Magda Linette, Magdalena Frech, Katarzyna Kawa, and Weronika Falkowska will represent Poland in the competition.

It’s important to mention that if the Polish team makes it to the BJK Cup final, Swiatek might miss the 2016 Summer Olympics. This is because Poland would skip the qualifiers and directly qualify for the Olympics in Paris. Swiatek’s absence could potentially harm their chances in the Olympics.

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