World No. 1 Iga Swiatek admitted she didn’t really believe she that she could do major things in tennis. Swiatek, 21, is now considered as the best player in the women’s game. Swiatek is a two-time Grand Slam champion and she has been ranked at the top spot since March.
Swiatek is widely considered as someone who has the potential to go down as one of the greatest players in tennis history. “I always felt that I was not very likely to accomplish anything great,” Swiatek told Przeglad Sportowy.
Swiatek on why she didn’t believe she could do great things
Before Swiatek, Polish tennis was led by Agnieszka Radwanska. Radwanska enjoyed a pretty good career as she was a Grand Slam finalist and once was the second-ranked player in the world.
When Swiatek started playing tennis, she was just glad to have something to do other than go to school. “Agnieszka Radwańska was the only athlete out of nearly 40 million Poles who has achieved something great so I didn’t believe that I could be the next one.
I am a rational person and this is how I look at things. Sometimes this is a zero-one approach and not necessarily in line with reality because the world doesn’t work like that. But that’s why I thought the way I did.
However, I worked all the time because I liked the competition and the fact that I was doing something other than school,” Swiatek explained. When Swiatek achieved her first notable results as a junior, that’s when she received a boost of inspiration.
“There were inspiring moments along the way that made me realise I was doing the right thing. One of them was definitely my debut in a junior Grand Slam tournament. I was 15 and I played in the French Open against players under the age of 18.
I reached the quarter-finals and surprised everyone, including myself. Just being there, on these courts, watching the great tennis stars passing by made me realise that hard work pays off because it can be a cool way to live your life.
Plus, tennis ruled in Paris for two weeks and I was a part of it. I had never seen anything like that before,” Swiatek added.
