Iga Swiatek was the authentic ruler of the WTA Women’s Tour in 2022. A year that she gave her two Slams, the Roland Garros and the Us Open, and the first place in the WTA Ranking. 2023 will be the year of her confirmations for the Polish number one.
Insiders, her fans, her colleagues, all legitimately expect her to start as favorite in all the tournaments in which she will take part. Her season will start from the United Cup, a brand new event for nations that will unite men and women and will be held in three different Australian cities (Brisbane, Perth and Sydney) replacing the ATP Cup.
At the Media Day of the Australian tournament, the 21-year-old addressed various topics, from the first seasonal commitment, which will start on December 29th, to the Barty model. Finally, a joke about the pressures dictated by the first position in the WTA ranking.
Iga Swiatek prepares a 2023 as ruler
She explained: “It’s the first tournament of the year, so it will always be difficult, but it’s good that we can have the opportunity to share this experience with our teammates and have them on the bench to support us, it’s something different.
It breaks the routine a bit, because we are used to playing alone and this type of tournament makes the circuit really special. I hope we all enjoy the event, it will be fun. I am very proud of myself. I feel enormous satisfaction because I have worked all my life to get to this point.
When Ash Barty retired I had mixed emotions because she still had the best tennis. I can’t wait to see her this week and tell her openly that she has really inspired me to work harder and her different play style has made me realize there is room for improvement.
At first I wasn’t sure if this was my place. Ash was a great role model across the draw, not only in her behavior on the track, but off it as well. She’s set the bar very high, so I have to show people and myself that I’m in the right place.
At the beginning of this year I will try to forget everything that happened last year and focus on the future. I can gain a lot of confidence thinking about how I played these tournaments last season, but I don’t want to hold on too much because I want to move forward and focus on my next goals, trying to improve as a tennis player.”
