Swiatek feeling less pressure at Wimbledon than before

The world No 1 has never made it past the last 16 at Wimbledon but believes she’s better prepared than in the past

Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in 2021 – © AI/Reuters/Panoramic

July 1, 2023

World No 1 Iga Swiatek says she is feeling less pressure going into Wimbledon than in the past.

The Pole won her fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros last month but has yet to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Last year she arrived at Wimbledon exhausted and lost in the third round and her best effort here was in 2021, when she reached the fourth round.

But a good warm-up, including a run to the semi-finals in Bad Homburg have left her feeling good about her game and increasingly confident on grass.

“Last year I felt a lot of pressure here because I was No 1,” she told reporters at Wimbledon on Saturday. “I don’t know. I feel like this time, this (is) the first year where I could just focus on practising, actually learning a lot. So hopefully I’m going to be able to use that on my matches.”

Movement the key for Swiatek

While Swiatek seems to take to clay naturally, adjusting to the movement required on grass takes more time, she said.

“Mainly I’m focused on footwork because that’s I think where my strength is on other surfaces,” she said. “For sure sliding is tricky here, so you have to slow down and stop before the shot in a different way.

“I feel like if you have time to adjust to the surface and then use your intuition on matches, I was able to do that a little bit in Bad Homburg, I think it’s going to be fine.

“Last year when I didn’t play any matches before Wimbledon, it was hard to use my intuition because there was pressure. I felt like I’m playing a Grand Slam, and I played so well in Roland Garros that I should play well here as well. But it’s different (this year). This year I feel like I’ve done a little bit more than for the past years.”

Swiatek wants to become a top player on grass

Swiatek said she feels fine after pulling out of Bad Homburg because of illness. Having feared she had suffered food poisoning, she recovered quickly and said she is raring to go.

Victory here two weeks today would mean Swiatek has won on a Grand Slam on all surfaces, cementing her status as one of the top players in the sport.

“For sure, like deeply I believe the best players, they can play on all surfaces,” she said. “I want to kind of become that kind of player who can play well on grass, as well, and feel comfortable there.

“I’m doing my best to just work on my skills. Last year I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job with my coach in terms of my touch and getting back slices and also playing slice sometimes. This year I feel like we had more time to kind of focus on, like, the basics, more time to also play matches. If I would have more time to play on grass, I’m pretty sure that I would be able to play better and better.”

Swiatek plays Lin Zhu of China in her opening match on Tuesday.