Iga Swiatek talks of the added pressure of sponsors as the Pole recalls her initial struggles
Swiatek expands on the added pressure of gaining sponsorships and the constant pressure of wanting to perform better.
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Iga Swiatek (Credits: Eurosport)
Iga Swiatek has recently signed a deal with Visa agreeing to be their global ambassador. Earlier this year, she also agreed to contracts with On, a sports apparel company, Onshee, a Polish drinks company, and with Tecnifibre, a tennis racket manufacturer. These contracts have highly improved her marketability. However, in a recent interview, she opened up about the added pressure which comes along with these endorsement deals.
When asked how much of the job has changed with regards to preparing for these, she replied, “Well, it’s nice that you ask about that, because people often, they don’t know that we actually have to work on that as well,” demonstrating that extra work is indeed put into these sponsorship agreements. Swiatek recalls the pressure that was laid on her shoulders when she signed a few of her first deals.
She has also said that there was no one, even among people very close to her, who really understood the stress that came with these new responsibilities. The Pole also voiced out that her family thought that these endorsements would give her new wings and that she would play her best game.
“But sometimes you feel like you need to perform better because they believe in you and you’re representing them. I really needed to work on that hard, and I did that and I’m over it,” she said while emphasizing the additional strain that came with the sponsors believing they could trust her with these new endorsements. (H/T: tennisinfinity)
The current World No. 1 has also said that she is happy that she has all these companies backing her and with the work her management team puts into these deals. Swiatek has also mentioned that she worked hard to move past all the bad influences that these deals had on her in her younger years.
Iga Swiatek opens up about wanting to ‘steal a few seconds’ against Marketa Vondrousova
World number 1, Iga Swiatek, has marched past Marketa Vondrousova to secure herself a spot in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open. However, she has admitted that she had to “steal a few seconds” in order to catch her breath in the close call between herself and her Czech counterpart. She said, “In the last two games of the match we played quite long rallies and I felt that I needed to catch my breath, but Marketa wouldn’t let me, ” explaining how hard it was to keep up with her opponent.
The Pole also says that she had conversations with the umpire, Marija Cicak, regarding wanting to get a break, but understands the rejection, given that it was against regulations. She admits that she was in need of a break to catch her breath in order to play her best game.
Swiatek is set to face Coco Gauff in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals. The Pole has admitted that she knows Gauff’s game well and has played against her quite a few times in the past.
In case you missed it:
- Iga Swiatek’s “Break Point’ video explaining how her psychologist Daria Abramowicz was subjected to online abuse for recommending new haircut goes viral
- Taylor Fritz opens up on being a father as a teenager and juggling his career as he discusses how it has affected him
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Nikhil Sonmali
(1112 Articles Published)