After losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open, the world’s number one in women’s tennis Iga Swiatek said she is trying to stay grounded and accepts she can’t always be perfect. The Polish player is currently preparing to defend her title at the tournament WTA 500 Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha.
The 21-year-old tennis player was considered one of the favorites to win the first Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne but suffered a 0-2 (4:6, 4:6) defeat to 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan).
“I wanted to focus on lowering the expectations on myself to play perfectly all the time”, said Iga Swiatek
Last year, Iga Swiatek went on a 37-match streak, winning the French and US Opens, as well as titles in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and San Diego.
“Last season was so strange that it can confuse you a bit. I wanted to put both feet on the ground and focus on hard work on the court”, said the Polish tennis player. “I’m happy because we did well in the pre-season. Training was intense and we did a lot of work. I feel that now I can really focus on the technical part and improve my game even more”, added she.
Iga Swiatek said she is not thinking too much about defending her title at the Qatar Open. “I want to start this tournament like any other player, and we all do and start from the same place. There are many matches to win and different obstacles to overcome. I want to be fully focused on the next step”,she concluded.
