Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek is a Polish tennis player. She won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open when she was 19 years old in October 2020.

Born in Warsaw, Poland in 2001, Swiatek initially started out as a swimmer but switched to playing tennis, opting to follow in the footsteps of her older sister into the sport.

After briefly competing on the ITF junior circuit in 2013, she made her professional debut three years later and won her first three titles when she was just 15 years old.

She made her debut on the WTA Tour in 2019 and made her first tour-level final that year at the Ladies Open Lugano.

At the rescheduled French Open in the autumn of 2020, Swiatek claimed the singles crown to win her first major title despite starting the tournament ranked as number 54 in the world.

She made further progress in 2022, winning both the French Open and the US Open grand slam titles and becoming world number one.

So, how much do you know about Swiatek’s journey to becoming the talented tennis player she is today? This is her story.

Early Life, Parents And Upbringing

Swiatek was born in Warsaw, Poland on 31 May 2001 to parents Dorota and Tomasz. Her father Tomasz is a former professional rower who competed in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Her Dorota mother is an orthodontist.

Her father Tomasz was keen for his daughters Iga and Agata, who is about three years older, to become professional athletes – but he preferred that they focused on individual sports rather than team sports to boost their chances of success.

“I was scared of water so tennis was much better for me,” Swiatek said at the 2021 Australian Open.

Iga, who trained at Mera Warsaw as a 14-year-old before later moving to sports club Legia Warsaw, revealed that her father was always a big fan of tennis and dreamed that her daughters would play the sport professionally one day.

“My father always liked tennis and he wanted his daughter to play,” Iga said back in 2019. “It was his idea. My older sister was playing. She’s three years older and I always wanted to be like her. I was always competing with her when I was younger and I always lost, so that was very motivating for me.

“I guess I was really competitive. It wasn’t just about tennis. If I would swim or do anything, I was always going to be competitive. I guess I liked it because I was good at it. It was natural for me. And I always wanted to beat my sister. Sorry, sister!”

“When I came here [Paris] two years ago, it was my first Grand Slam juniors,” she explains. “It was overwhelming. When I saw the people and the atmosphere, it was really great, and I thought I wanted to do it for real. Because when I was younger I didn’t have an obsession with tennis. I didn’t watch any matches, I was just playing.

“But when I came to the Grand Slam it totally changed and I realised that it was a cool way to have a life.”

Asked to describe her brand of tennis, Swiatek has said: “A big serve, topspin, and backhand down the line.”

Career Milestones

Swiatek showed lots of promise as a junior and began competing on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2015, winning titles in April and May of that year when she was just 13 years old.

In 2018, Swiatek sealed her first junior Grand Slam title in the doubles at the French Open with partner Caty McNally of America.

Later that year, she finally tasted singles junior Grand Slam success at Wimbledon. She won her first match at SW19 against top seed Whitney Osuigwe in three sets and then did not drop another set en route to winning the title, defeating Switzerland’s Leonie Kung in the final.

Swiatek made her WTA Tour debut in 2019 when she qualified for the Australian Open in Melbourne. She beat Romania’s Ana Bogdan to reach the second round, where she lost to Italy’s Camila Giorgi.

At the French Open that year, Swiatek continued to make progress as she reached the fourth round of the tournament in Paris. She lost in the first and second rounds of Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019. Nevertheless, her progress in 2019 meant that she broke into the world’s top 50 for the first time.

Swiatek enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2020, despite the campaign being punctuated by the coronavirus pandemic. She reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before the season was put on hold due to Covid-19.

When tennis did resume, she reached the third round of the US Open in New York, losing to eventual finalist Victoria Azarenka.

French Open Title And Further Progress

The 2020 French Open was rescheduled to September and October because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was to be a breakthrough tournament for Swiatek.

She began the tournament ranked number 54 in the world and defeated the likes of Marketa Vondrousova and Simona Halep en route to the final. She then beat American Sofia Kenin in the final to win her maiden Grand Slam and tour level title.

In doing so, she became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title – and, at 19 years old, also became the youngest singles champion at the tournament since Rafael Nadal back in 2005.

“It is crazy. Two years ago I won a junior Grand Slam and now I’m here,” she said after the match. “It feels like such a short time. I’m so overwhelmed.”

She was beaten by Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals of the 2021 French Open and lost to Ons Jabeur in the fourth round at Wimbledon. At the US Open, she reached the fourth round, where she lost to Bencic.

Swiatek qualified for the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara but did not advance past the group stage after losing to Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka.

Swiatek then followed up that victory with another WTA 1000 title, this time at Indian Wells in March 2022. She claimed the trophy after beating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 to secure the victory and improve her ranking to number two in the world. The final was her 11th straight match win.

On 25 March 2022, it was confirmed that Swiatek would be the new world number one when the rankings were updated in early April, making her the 28th woman to capture the top ranking.

At 20 years and 92 days old, she became the youngest player to make her number one debut since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

“I am really satisfied and proud of myself for reaching the number one spot,” Swiatek said. “I feel like my tennis is going the right way and my goal is to stay at No.1 and continue what I am doing.”

Her remarkable form continued at the 2022 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she secured the title after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The 6-2 6-2 victory in the final secured her fourth straight title and extended her winning run to 23 matches.

Swiatek then made it five straight titles when she won the WTA 1000 Rome tournament, beating Ons Jabeur 6-2 6-2 to defend her title and notch up her 28th match win in a row. “I’m going to celebrate with a lot of tiramisu!” Swiatek said on court after the victory.

The Pole then won her second grand slam title at the 2022 French Open in Paris. In the final, she beat Coco Gauff of America in straight sets to land her second major crown.

“I’m just not expecting a lot, especially before this tournament,” Swiatek said on court afterwards. “It was such challenging time, coming back after winning a grand slam. It’s always tricky, even though Roland Garros was the second one. So I really needed to stay composed and focus on the goals.

“And for sure this tournament was a really challenging goal. Because, yeah, it’s New York. It’s so loud, it’s so crazy. So many temptations in the city, so many people I’ve met who are so inspiring. It’s really mind-blowing for me. And I’m so proud that I could handle it mentally.”

Life Away From The Court

Swiatek enjoys reading books and listening to music in her spare time, and she admits that she has a “big obsession” with the latter.

“In free time I read books and listen to music,” she says. “I have a big obsession with music. I have a type of music for every mood, but I love rock.

“I love Pink Floyd. If I have a mood for Pop, I like ABBA. I also like Coldplay, Florence and the Machine, Santana. And if I want something more aggressive, AC/DC gets me in the mood. I’ve been listening to Thunderstruck before the matches. And I’m watching The Office, the US version.”

Asics, Red Bull and Lexus are among the brands in her endorsement portfolio. She employs a sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, to travel with her on tour.

What Have Others Said?

Three times Grand Slam champion Andy Murray took to social media to praise Swiatek in the summer of 2021, and the Polish player was quick to ask the Brit if they could take part in a practice session.

Naomi Osaka has also spoken of her admiration for Swiatek in the past.

“I would say I was really inspired by Iga,” said Osaka in January 2021. “I thought it was really amazing how she was able to be super focused in all her matches [at the 2020 French Open]. I was watching the finals.

“I thought it was really nice to watch because I ate dinner with her last year here. She was talking about how she might go to college. I was telling her, like, she’s really good, and I think she’s going to do really well, so maybe don’t try to divert your energy to college just yet. I’m glad she was able to win a Grand Slam so fast. Hopefully she’ll continue to grow, which I know she will.”