Swiatek says players feel good “maybe five tournaments a year”

The world No 1 said overcoming difficult situations is part and parcel of the Tour

Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

March 9, 2024

Richard Gasquet once answered a question about how often he takes ibuprofen before and after matches with a laugh, and the briefest of responses. “You don’t want to know,” he said.

A tennis player’s life looks glamorous, following the sun around the world, playing in some of the most amazing cities on the planet. And it is, but there’s also a lot of pain that goes unnoticed, players battling through injuries and illness to still compete.

Just like anyone in any walk of life, tennis players also wake up some days just not feeling their best but if they’re due to play a match, they don’t have much choice.

In Indian Wells on Friday, women’s world No 1 Iga Swiatek gave an insight into what players go through on a daily, weekly basis.

“I think most of the players would tell you that they don’t feel comfortable most of the time,” said Swuatek, after an impressive start to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she beat Danielle Collins 6-3, 6-0.

“They only have probably, like, I don’t know, if they have five tournaments during the year where they feel great. That’s a lot, you know.”

All business 🧢

2022 champion @iga_swiatek defeats Collins 6-3, 6-0 to kick things off in the desert!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/mo147aoyXo
— wta (@WTA) March 8, 2024

Swiatek: “You just have to not panic”

Sometimes, of course, players manage to come through that one dodgy match, when they’re not feeling their best and go on to win the title. How often have we seen Novak Djokovic shake off adversity to take even the biggest titles in the sport?

“You just have to kind of don’t panic and take it step by step, because I already had plenty of tournaments where I didn’t play well during first matches and then I was able to change my game and adjust a little bit more so I could win titles.

“So this gave me a little bit more perspective and it showed me that I shouldn’t, you know, judge too early my game even though I may not, you know, play so well or feel comfortable. And for sure this kind of approach helps to find these solutions and actually problem-solve.”

Swiatek plays Czech Linda Niskova in the third round.