After a few days of holiday, Swiatek has begun her preparations for 2023: “I have already found my inner motivation”

After a few days of holiday, Swiatek has started her preparations for 2023: “I have already found my inner motivation”

December 4, 2022

After playing and losing her last match of the season in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in the USA, Iga Swiatek took a well-deserved holiday in the Caribbean, more specifically in Anguilla. The Polish player had hardly been able to rest in 2022, playing 76 matches in total (with a record of 67 wins and only nine losses). A break that did her the world of good.

“For the first time in a long time I had the opportunity to be on holiday, where I had nothing to do,” explained Swiatek in an interview published on the Facebook page of her sponsor Asics. I needed it so much. Including the flights, I had six and a half days of holiday in total, but I feel refreshed. I’ve already got my inner motivation back.”

The world No 1 returned to training in late November, as she showed in a post on her official Instagram account. The Pole is preparing for 2023 and also for the World Tennis League, a team exhibition tournament to be held in Dubai from 19 to 24 December 2022.

SWIATEK “LOVES TEAM COMPETITION”

Swiatek will be in the Kites team alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime, Gael Monfils, Sania Mirza and Eugenie Bouchard. Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, Caroline Garcia and Alexander Zverev are among the headliners in the 18-player World Tennis League.

“I am delighted to be starting in Dubai. I love team competition, being in a team. For the first time it will not be a Polish team, but an international one. My coach thinks it will be good training to play matches with good players during the preparation period. I am curious to know how I will feel during this competition.”

“We will be leaving in mid-December, so I will be spending Christmas away from home this year. Coming back from Dubai to Warsaw, then travelling from Warsaw to Dubai to Australia would be a very physically demanding start to the season. These are the sacrifices an athlete has to be aware of. I hope that I will spend this time in Dubai resting,” explained the Pole.

I AM VERY HAPPY THAT OUR PATHS HAVE CROSSED
Iga Swiatek on her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski

During her interview, Swiatek also spoke about her relationship with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, with whom she has been working for only one year. The Pole, who won two Grand Slams in 2022 and also became world No 1 for the first time in her career, explained that she is very happy to be working with Wiktorowski.

“He is a good coach who is aware of the challenges we have sometimes and that a lot of things that happen off the court affect the way a person plays. I like him for the way he looks at the sport more broadly, but also for purely tennis things. He has a good eye and can tell me things in a way that I really feel the effects.

“He sees a lot of things tactically, he is good at analysing the game. There are a lot of things through which I also develop and achieve such success. I am very happy that our paths have crossed and that we now have the chance to work together. After a whole year of cooperation, I see these things clearly and I am very happy.”