Given the dominance with which Iga Swiatek claimed the French Open ladies’ singles championship, it’s hard to imagine she just graduated from high school. True, the nature of the Grand Slam stop and the extraordinary circumstances behind the tournament’s latest staging helped set up her singular accomplishment. Then again, there can be no discounting her efforts en route to becoming just the fourth player in tennis annals (after Mats Wilander in 1982, Gustavo Kuerten in 1997, and Jelena Ostapenko three years ago) to break into the win column on tour with a major title.
Granted, Swiatek has had brushes with success that underscore her elite-level skill set. In 2018, she paired a French Open juniors doubles title with a Wimbledon girls’ singles crown. She then rose through the ranks, reaching her first Women’s Tennis Association Tour final and breaking the Top 100 the next year. Prior to her sterling run at Roland Garros, she marked the season with respectable fourth- and third-round finishes at the Australian Open and United States Open, respectively. That said, there was little indication that she would then run roughshod over the field, which remained formidable despite the absence of such notables as Naomi Osaka and Ashley Barty for safety reasons and the second-round withdrawal of Serena Williams due to injury.
Indeed, Swiatek would go on to trounce the likes of Marketa Vondrousova, Eugenie Bouchard, Simona Halep, and Sofia Kenin en route to her inaugural podium finish. And she didn’t so much beat them as give them thorough beatings; she didn’t lose a set through the fortnight, and dropped only 28 games all told. So transcendent was her play that peers and tennis greats alike couldn’t help but sing her praises in the aftermath. Among the living legends who believe she has multiple Grand Slam wins in her future: John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert.
Such lavish commendations can be ingredients for spoilage, especially for fast-rising talents still lacking in experience. Swiatek, however, seems to be built differently. She carries herself with humility, and admits that she remains a work in progress. At the same time, she understands that she needs to place as much importance on the soundness of mind as of body. She travels to events with both coach Piotr Sierzputowski and psychologist Daria Abramowicz, and considering her poise on court and in the sidelines at Roland Garros, she clearly learns her lessons well.
Which, in a nutshell, is why Swiatek has become tennis’ new darling. She’s basking in well-deserved glory even as her star’s still rising, and looks to be for some time to come.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
