Champion this year in Adelaide, she is one of the stars of the Mutua Madrid Open, which kicks off this Thursday in the women's category.
Iga Swiatek
(Warsaw, 2001) offers a richer conversation than most of her colleagues.
Read and don't play Play.
Fourteenth seed (17th in the ranking), in her first participation in the tournament, she will debut against the American
Alison Riske
.
This Wednesday he attended ELMUNDO via Zoom from the Caja Mágica.
How were the first training sessions in Madrid? Complicated, because the conditions are different, in particular due to the altitude. The balls are heavy and I have to adapt to it all, but the process is similar in each tournament. You always have to adjust things. How has your life changed since you won Roland Garros? I think life always changes for a tennis player after winning a Grand Slam tournament. It's different, I'm more popular, I get more attention from the media, everyone treats me differently, but basically I'm still the same Iga, with the same goals. Do you feel more pressure now? Yes, but not the one that comes from the outside, but from myself. I am a perfectionist and in tennis many mistakes are made, something that sometimes I am not able to assume.I get angry on the court faster than before because I know I can play great tennis and sometimes I can't do it; you cannot always be in the ideal moment. I am working on it and I hope to achieve it with a greater degree of experience, I have to give myself time. I may still look angry on the track, but I hope it gets better every month. Since when have you worked with Daria Abramomowicz, your psychologist, and how is she doing with her? We have been since 2019 and the results are very productive because it teaches me different angles of the sport. It is different from other psychologists that I had previously. It also helps me in my private life, because everything is connected. My private life has a profound influence on my tennis. Have you been working with psychologists since I was a child? More than anything, it has been about mental training.I have always wanted to improve in that area. At first, I had trouble concentrating well and didn't know how to channel excess energy. I have always wanted to improve the mental predisposition to progress in my tennis. Now I have taken another step with Daria, who travels with me to tournaments. I think the head is something fundamental if you want to be a champion. Are your musical tastes surprising, among which are groups like Pink Floyd and AC / DC? [Laughs] Well, I started listening to pop and rock when I was 15 years old. I was curious about music from the past, from the sixties, seventies, eighties. Now I'm more interested in other styles, like jazz and pop fusion, singers like Norah Jones. I'm always curious. Where does this concern come from? No one in particular. Every person in my life has suggested something to me.When I have traveled with different coaches or my physical trainers or Daria, I have tried to learn from all of them, she likes to read, and especially history books. Ken Follet, among others. What are you reading now? The biography of Barack Obama, which came out a few months ago. I don't know much about American politics and I think biographies are a good way to learn. At the same time I read some lighter fiction books. So I don't have time for the PlayStation and that kind of thing. I could find time, but the truth is that I don't like video games. I couldn't really tell if I like them either because I've never played. When you have a game console you have to learn to use it, and I have never tried. I do not rule out doing it at some point. If a lot of people play, it might be worth it.Are you also looking to educate yourself when it comes to choosing the series you watch? I'm not watching any now. In Australia, during the forced quarantine, I had a long time and saw
Falcon and the winter soldier
. Now I want to see the movie
Black widow
.Poland is a country with a great Catholic tradition. Are you a believer? Do you go to church? That belongs to my private life. And I prefer to keep it that way - she won the second tournament of her career this year, in Adelaide, and is now 17th in the world. Are you satisfied with your progression? Yes, of course. I want to say that anyone in the sport knows of the difficulties that come after a great success like that of Roland Garros. I am happy to have had a good week in Adelaide. From Paris there are many expectations and it is not easy to bear the pressure. I think anyone would say the same to him after winning his first Grand Slam title. The most important thing for me now is to focus on playing and not obsess over wins. I want to enjoy being here. I know I'm a Grand Slam champion and I should winbut I think it's a good way to wear it. She has confessed to being an admirer of Rafael Nadal. Do you think he will finish with the most Grand Slam titles? It is a difficult matter to predict because there are many factors. There are many things that must work to win these titles. I don't really know, no idea. It will be interesting to follow what happens. I will continue to support Rafa, but Roger and Novak are there and it is difficult to predict.but Roger and Novak are there and it is difficult to predict.but Roger and Novak are there and it is difficult to predict.
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