Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: "Everything stays different" for Iga Swiatek as number 1
Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 1) is currently the measure of all things on the women's tour. Although a lot has changed, a lot has stayed the same. Just an announcement could scare the competition.
by Florian Goosman from Stuttgart
last edit: Apr 20, 2022, 07:16 am
You might think that great opportunities always bring great pressure. If that was the case with Iga Swiatek, then at least she accepted it brilliantly. Swiatek has now been undefeated since February, with tournament wins in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, and as if that weren't enough, he also made his mark at last weekend's Billie Jean King Cup, going 6-1, 6-0 and one 6:0, 6:0 over, okay, not the big competition from Romania.
In the midst of her winning streak, the chance for number 1 had opened up when Ashleigh Barty announced her surprising retirement . Swiatek was the designated successor, but still had to perform, claiming an opening win at the Miami Open - which she did .
Iga Swiatek: Switching to sand is always quick
Is it a special feeling, being number 1? Swiatek tried an amusingly evasive answer at her press conference in Stuttgart: "It's the same because the places are the same, my opponents are the same and I still have the same goals. But it's not the same either: people treat me differently, it there's more pressure, more commitments and activities off the pitch. But nothing has changed on the pitch." And finally, she still has the same people and friends to talk to that she used to - even when she wasn't in the top 100.
And that wasn't even that long ago: Almost exactly three years, in fact, in April 2019 Swiatek played in the final of Lugano and the round of 16 in Paris. A prelude to what was to follow, with the sensational success at Roland Garros in autumn 2020.
It's back on the beloved sand, and after her hard-court successes one can only imagine what Swiatek could do on the red ash in 2022, should she be able to transfer her form. She completed her first training session in the Porsche Arena on Tuesday, on Monday you could admire her up close in the Village - and just this much: there was a lot of tension on the ball. Two more training sessions are still needed to get used to the Space to get used to, so Swiatek. "But I think I'm ready because the transition from hard to clay is always quick for me."
If she weren't so nice, you could almost take it as a threat.