Iga Swiatek will be competing in China for the first time in her career as the Polish star is set to compete in the China Open. This will be Swiatek’s first big tournament since losing her number 1 rank in the world. When asked about Gauff’s major Grand Slam win at the US Open, Swiatek congratulated the American but kept her praise short. The Polish star also mentioned that she doesn’t get excited by things anymore.
Swiatek started the US Open as the defending champion but failed to reclaim her title, resulting in her losing the number one ranking in the world. The Pole lost to Russian Veronika Kudermetova, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Swiatek will be hoping to make a comeback, knowing she will have to compete with both Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff for major titles.
Iga Swiatek praises Coco Gauff
Iga Swiatek entered the US Open as the favorite to retain her title. However, the Polish star failed to make an impact in the tournament. Swiatek lost to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round of the US Open. Swiatek’s US Open campaign, in which she failed to defend her title, proved to be a turning point in her season. Coco Gauff, who had never beaten Swiatek until the Cincinnati Masters, went on to win her maiden Grand Slam title.
Swiatek spoke to the press before her debut match at the China Open and congratulated Coco Gauff on her well-deserved US Open victory. However, the Pole claimed that she does not have that exciting feeling anymore and was just happy to concentrate on herself. It was a maeasured response from Swiatek when asked about Coco Gauff.
“I mean, I was happy for her because I know she’s a hard worker. She struggles sometimes. It felt like, yeah, she has done a lot of progress this year. She kind of just confirmed that during the US Open, I guess. No, I’m just happy. But, like, yeah, I don’t have any more exciting feelings. I know how she can play, so I can totally imagine her winning a Grand Slam. Yeah, she improved, in my opinion. I said that after our match. So she deserves it if she won.”
The US Open loss demoted Swiatek from her world number one position, making Aryna Sabalenka the top ranked player in the world.
Swiatek’s perspective on the number 1 ranking
Iga Swiatek said losing the world number one ranking felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and the 22-year-old plans to focus on improving her game rather than chasing points in the last stretch of the season. Swiatek inherited the top rank after Ash Barty retired in April 2022 and went on to lead the WTA ranking for 75 weeks.
The Polish star admitted that she enjoyed being the world number 1 at the start but soon felt the constant pressure. The 22-year-old is happy to lose her number 1 ranking as it takes the pressure off her. Swiatek further admitted that she felt a lot of pressure of being the world number 1 at the beginning of 2023.
“I wouldn’t say it was a constant feeling. It was more like at the beginning I was really pumped and I felt like still I need to kind of show people that I’m in the right place and I deserve to be No. 1. That feeling, I think I kept it until the end of the 2022 season. For sure when I started the next one, this year, I felt a little bit more pressure. Well, you know, basically there are a lot of things. You have a lot more obligations, a lot more press conferences and media stuff to do.”
Swiatek’s recent drop in the rankings may be a blessing in disguise for the Pole. The world number 2 will enter the final leg of the tennis season with fresh motivation to challenge Sabalenka and Gauff for the number 1 spot.
