“Times change” – Swiatek reverses fortunes of junior days against Anastasia Potapova
The world No 1 struggled against Potapova when they were juniors, but completed a ruthless demolition of the Russian in their fourth-round encounter at Roland-Garros
Iga Swiatek, Roland-Garros, 2024 © Federico Pestellini / Panoramic
Eight years ago, Anastasia Potapova and Iga Swiatek faced off on the clay courts of Roland-Garros as two of the world’s most talented junior tennis players.
There was considerable excitement surrounding Swiatek at the time, but the buzz around the young Russian was reaching fever pitch among those well-informed about Juniors tennis.
Potapova won that quarter-final to add to the three victories she’d already secured over the Pole during their time playing matches against one another on the under-12s circuit – the most notable of which was a two-and-a-half hour epic in the semi-finals of the Orange Bowl, a match that left a young Swiatek in tears.
Having already won the European Junior 14s title, Potapova proceeded to become the Junior world No 1 just weeks after her fourth straight win over Swiatek in Paris.
Despite one-sided victories evolving into elongated, closely-fought affairs, Swiatek had yet to register a win over her great nemesis as Potapova firmly established herself as the Queen of the Juniors. The pair’s rivalry therefore seemed destined to carry over from the Junior circuit into their WTA-level professional careers.
Indeed it has, but not quite in the form that many might have predicted at the time.
Juniors results are a very useful barometer for future success, but they are rarely – if ever – a mirror-perfect reflection of how one’s top-flight career will pan out.
differing fortunes as swiatek and potapova transition to the wta tour
Fast forward eight years from Potapova’s dominance at junior level, and her one-time rival is, well, no longer quite a rival.
Swiatek has fully established herself as not just the leading player of her generation, but an all-time great of the sport in the making.
She is the undisputed world No 1, a four-time Grand Slam champion and the unofficial (but widely acknowledged) Queen of Clay.
Potapova, meanwhile, has put together a greatly promising young career and has set herself up nicely for success. She is an undoubted talent, and already has two WTA 250 titles under her belt, winning Istanbul and Linz.
But it is fair to say that Swiatek has, for now, accelerated away from her old foe. With 21 WTA titles, 10 of them 1000-level trophies, the roles have well and truly reversed from the pair’s junior days.
“Obviously, I had just a thought that times change a little bit because I remember she was always the player to beat me,” was how Swiatek put it in her post-match press conference.
“I don’t think I won against her, and I lost some heart-breaking matches for me. Like in the semi-final of the Orange Bowl when I had match point, and I lost here when I had a pretty good tournament, and I lost against, yeah, Potapova and couple more.
“We always played against each other in, like, the European championships or something.”
chastening roland-garros defeat underlines a gulf in class
The result of their fourth-round encounter at Roland-Garros this year served to boldly underline the gaping chasm that now sits between them.
In their first meeting at the highest level of women’s tennis, Swiatek routed Potapova 6-0, 6-0 in a ruthless display throughout which the Russian was simply powerless against the world No 1.
But for the two-time defending champion in Paris, there is little use in dwelling nostalgically on the changing courses of time.
“Honestly, there’s no point to think about that, but I had just a thought like that.
“It lasted two seconds, and then I was focusing on my work because that’s the best thing I can do.”
To make it clear, this was – today’s result aside – an excellent tournament for Potapova. She reached her first Grand Slam fourth round, playing some wonderful tennis along the way.
Potapova is a very likeable character and she has the time, talent and work ethic to achieve great things in this sport.
But it feels like a significant point in both her and Swiatek’s careers to pause and take stock of the different trajectories their tennis journeys have taken.
There is no reason at all why things won’t change course once again. But currently, it is the underdog of their junior days rivalry who has ascended to another platform, leaving both Potapova and most others in her wake.
If there is to be another shift in fortunes between these two, it doesn’t appear to be coming anytime soon.
