After the retirement of Serena Williams, women’s tennis is searching for a new flagbearer for tennis. Now, Iga Swiatek has emerged as the latest superstar in women’s tennis. The Polish star has impressed with her performances and is currently the world number one. The World No.1 is a big fan of Rafael Nadal and both share some similar values.
Iga Swiatek has already admitted that she is a Rafael Nadal fan. At the Cincinnati Masters 2023, Swiatek called Nadal the greatest tennis player of all-time in a video. The World No.1 has often looked up to the Spaniard as her ‘idol’ and has admitted that she tries to copy him. The players were supposed to give other players a compliment and the Polish star reserved her compliments for the Spaniard.
“My compliment goes to Rafael Nadal because he is just the GOAT.”
Both the tennis stars are soft spoken and humble. The Swiatek-Nadal duo are always modest in either victory or defeat and like to stay grounded despite success. Just like there nature, there are many other similarities between Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal too.
Swiatek and Nadal both prefer slower surfaces where they can manoever their opponents and use brute force to get the win. Both players enjoy playing on clay court more as they can tactically defeat their counterpart. The results are positive for both as Nadal won the Roland Garros 14 times throughout his career. Swiatek is following in the footsteps of her hero as well and has already won the French Open three times.
Rafael Nadal struggled to win the title at the Wimbledon and Australian Open as well earlier in his career. Similarly, Swiatek is yet to win a title in London and Melbourne too. It took Nadal 5 years into his professional career to win his first Wimbledon title and Swiatek will be aiming to do the same this year.
Also, Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal both endorse Indian multinational tech giant, Infosys who is also the official sponsor of the ATP Tour and several Grand Slams in the tennis calendar. In 2023, Infosys announced that they have signed a deal with Nadal to join their team.
Interestingly, Iga Swiatek has been a part of the Rafa Nadal Academy in the past. The Polish star was even invited as a guest speaker for young tennis players at the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2023.
Andy Roddick and journalist Jon Wertheim compared Nadal and Swiatek
In the recent episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast, journalist Jon Wertheim, who is already a known Rafael Nadal admirer, likened Iga Swiatek to the Spanish legend. Wertheim said after Swiatek won the Indian Wells 2024 title –
“This was title #19… I saw a stat, she has 19 wins in 23 finals. And, she has won four Majors, now this is her 8th 1000 event, did her usual… turned a bagel set. She doesn’t help us much, right? We’re talking about Rafa being so modest… she’s in the same ‘Team Self-Effacement’. This is a generational talent, 22 years old.”
Andy Roddick himself made an interesting comparison and he was quoted as saying –
“‘I love this moment for Swiatek, I like what you’re saying, the difference is she can struggle, she has not played great in four out of the last five Grand Slams, she always has… it feels like that Rafa [Nadal] thing where even if she struggles in majors, on a slow surface like Indian Wells, on a slow surface like Roland-Garros, she is going to continue to win.
“You feel like it’s her vs the field at worst at Roland-Garros.”
