Iga Swiatek’s on-court battles are awe-inspiring! Balancing power with her sublime pace, Swiatek’s game goes way beyond just her on-court physical skills. After all, like every sport, tennis is also a game of mental fortitude, along with physical prowess. Fortunately, the World No. 1 knows how to balance both! Revealing the power of mental preparation while being at the top of tennis, Swiatek disclosed a lesser-known side of hers to the world.
Iga Swiatek’s reign in tennis’ top spot has extended to 107 weeks. With 5 Grand Slams in her career, the Polish tennis star has won back-to-back three titles on clay this season. However, success in a field always drags some sort of pressure along with it; pressure to hold the power; pressure to keep on performing the best. Shedding light on her perspective on the matter during an interview, she had her candid answer ready to the question, “What would you like to say to those of us who can not cope with stress and feel that he is still “holding power”?
The 23-year-old player who believes in being a “perfectionist” said, “First of all, so that – if only they can afford it – they use the help of specialists, for example from the support of a psychologist or psychotherapist. And so on a daily basis, I recommend applications for meditation, learning different breathing techniques, and of course movement – the one we like and that suits us.” Sharing her own experience, the Madrid Open champion further revealed how every movement in our day-to-day life is essential to improving our well-being and “coping with stress.”
Concluding her statement, the Pole hinted at her own struggles and said, “I know something about this!” Known for her introverted nature on-court, Iga Swiatek has earned the reputation of being extremely calm on-court, even amid the most chaotic matches. However, the tennis world has witnessed occasional glimpses of her outbursts on-court recently, especially during her French Open match with Naomi Osaka.
Be it telling the audience to be “quiet”, or breaking down to tears after the match, Swiatek laid bare her emotional side to the world without hesitation. The 22 singles title winner also confessed how big of a challenge it is to keep on working to keep the stress in check and be calm on-court. “Patience in this work on myself is sometimes a challenge for me,” said Swiatek.
However, Iga Swiatek tries several exercises to help her overcome stress and increase mindfulness and building blocks is one of them. Sharing the benefits of it, Swiatek said, “It also stimulates creative thinking and helps me relax in a quite pleasant way.” Nevertheless, she also acknowledged the amount of work that goes behind achieving such calmness.
Iga Swiatek shares about the teamwork that goes behind achieving her goal
Admitting how she is now a “model of mental resistance on the court,” Iga Swiatek candidly accepted how it is a “well-deserved” tag for her. This is because she is aware of the ton of work that goes behind it and expresses how it is not an overnight change. Her secret behind achieving it? Well, according to her, it’s teamwork.
“It’s just taking care of yourself – proper rest, proper management of sports load, and many different other responsibilities. I couldn’t do it alone in such a demanding sport as tennis, it would be hard for me. That’s why I have a team of people behind me, great specialists in my fields.”
Well Swiatek is vying for her 2nd Grand Slam of the season going forward in the Wimbledon which starts on July 1st. As she continues to prove her dominance on-court, fans will remember not only her physical skills but also her mental resilience!
