Swiatek relishing opportunity to make Finals debut
13/11/2024 08:49
Iga Swiatek has already achieved much in her tennis career, but the 23-year-old is looking forward to a new experience here in Malaga.
By Molly McElwee
Iga Swiatek has made a habit of winning titles all over the world at the biggest tournaments, with five Grand Slam trophies and a further 17 on the WTA tour.
But this week marks a new milestone for her, as she makes her debut at the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals. She says she shaped her season around making it this time around for her Poland team.
“It’s amazing, it was my goal to play Billie Jean King Cup Finals. It wasn’t really possible in previous years, so when I got the opportunity, I played a little bit less matches the second part of the season, this is where I want to be.
“I think we have a great team, the atmosphere is great, I knew this was going to be a nice tournament.”
In previous years, without Swiatek’s involvement, Poland have not progressed beyond the opening round of the Finals. This year, on paper, they have the strongest team in Malaga by ranking. Alongside world No 2 Swiatek is Magdalena Frech (ranked 25) and Magda Linette (38) as singles options for captain Dawid Celt.
Reigning Roland-Garros champion Swiatek is finishing this season in somewhat of a transitional moment – or a new era, as a Taylor Swift fan like her might say. She is working with a new coach in Wim Fissette, after parting ways with her long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, and made a good start with him at the WTA Finals earlier this month.
After taking a few weeks off in October, she is also adjusting to being the world No 2 behind Aryna Sabalenka, after 122 weeks at the top of the rankings over the last three seasons.
The idea of chasing down that No 1 spot next season is a new experience that she is embracing.
“I think it’s pretty refreshing to be in a different position from time to time and to chase it,” Swiatek says. “I remember last year it gave me an extra motivational kick. This year obviously the season just ended so I’m not going to have the chance to use this motivation yet, I’ll do that in January.
“Honestly, [Aryna]’s been No 2 for so many weeks, it’s fine for me that she’s No 1 for a while but for sure I want to take it back and want to focus on the work to get some nice results and get back for sure.”
Making a splash at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals is her next target though. Swiatek says representing Poland is a huge honour for her and will draw on her experience at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
Though at first she was disappointed to miss out on the gold medal match, her bronze medal – Poland’s first-ever podium finish in Olympic tennis – is something she now treasures.
“At the beginning, I had a little bit of bitter-sweet emotions. The gold was obviously my goal, but at the end I realised that I should be really proud of myself that I won any medal. Losing in the semi-finals, playing the next day, honestly I think it was the hardest thing in my career to do.
“I’m really proud of myself. I feel like every month I understand it a little bit more, and I think this medal is going to stay with me forever, it’s going to be one of my greatest achievements.”
