MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAú

March 28, 2022

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/C. Gauff

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Coco is obviously a really young, talented player like yourself. What were your sort of thoughts heading to the match? How do you think it played out for you?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, you know, I knew it was going to be tough. Like physically she's really well prepared. You know, she's improving every month basically.

I knew I have to, you know, keep up and put pressure on her and kind of use the experience that I have already. I'm pretty happy that I was consistent, and I did put that pressure. So that was a good match for me.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Soon you'll be officially No. 1. Do you feel you are totally ready for that responsibility and all that comes with being No. 1?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, the thing is that, you know, after Roland Garros, we also started to kind of prepare for the success, and for sure, you know, there are going to be tough moments and there is going to be like huge amount of pressure. I don't really know how that feels exactly, because I have never been a No. 1. We are going to have to see and, you know, react probably.

But I feel right now pretty good. I always had a kind of ease to cut off the rankings and the numbers and just focus on playing. This season I have much more joy from being on court and playing and competing, so I think if I'm going to keep up with the same attitude, it's going to be fine. As I said, you never know what's gonna happen because I never been in such situations.

Yeah, we'll see, but I'm pretty positive, you know.

Q. Are you excited about that prospect more than pretty much anything you have had or experienced till now in your career?

IGA SWIATEK: I mean, yes, there is like more excitement, because after winning Roland Garros, because I can actually compare these two experiences, it's like on the same level, I would say, I felt a lot of doubt and I didn't really know, you know, what's gonna happen and how I'm gonna handle that.

But right now I feel more prepared and I feel like I'm in a better place. So there is more excitement and more like satisfaction and actually like positive thoughts and emotions. Because after Roland Garros, it was really a mess, I would say (smiling).

Q. So you feel that the experience of, what was it, 2019, is a good benchmark, a good bit of experience that you have had already after winning something very big to carry you into something as big as No. 1?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure. I think I have learned a lot after, you know, every tournament that I won. There was always a huge amount of work, I would say even more that we did after winning tournaments compared to after, you know, losing sometimes, because, you know, in tennis you're actually more used to losing (smiling).

So I feel like I'm ready to handle that. You know, it's the beginning of the season basically. I mean, not the beginning, but we're going to see at the end of the season where we are all going to be tired and the season is going to be long, so it's always tougher then to actually manage everything. But this year, you know, I'm not playing doubles. I'm also going to have more breaks and days off.

So I have full trust in my team that they're going to also give me time to recover and stay fresh.

Q. My question is you're going to be No. 1, and WTA is very successful female sport in terms of prize money and like endorsement exposure. What do you think that makes WTA this popular, like a No. 1 or one of the most famous female athlete, what kind of a message do you want to send to younger generation, especially girls, female?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, you know, I don't know how me being No. 1 or like my position, my success, actually if it changes anything at WTA, because they have been continuing like good work they have done to promote tennis and women's sports for a very long time.

For sure, my goal from the beginning when I started was to make tennis more popular in Poland, and I'm going to for sure be focusing on that. For sure now I have more impact also like worldwide. But honestly, I don't want to put too much baggage on my shoulders, and I know handling like the, I don't know, this is something that's pretty tough, so I'm going to give myself a little bit of time and continue what I was doing in Poland, and maybe some day I'm going to feel strong enough to also be like tennis representative in like whole world.

But for now, you know, I'm just taking it easy, and I know just by playing well and actually showing, you know, good sportsmanship on court, the work is going to be done itself, because we are basically mostly watched when we are playing, you know.

So I want to for sure be a good example there. Yeah, I hope many young girls are going to pick up the racquet because of that, and in future years, I'm going to see what my plan is going to be for that.

Q. There was one point in the second set where you scored 14 straight points and you stayed pretty composed when you were on the court, but what were you thinking in those moments, you just kept serving and kept scoring?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I didn't really know that I had a streak like that because I was really focused on my next point and next tactical options.

Well, for sure I needed, from the beginning I knew that I'm going to be pushing her, pushing Coco and putting pressure on her, so basically I didn't look back. I just, you know, looked forward.

I was in a good mood today and good like zone. I was really focused, so sometimes I have these kind of moments where I don't even know what the score is. That's nice, because you're just focusing on tennis and tactics and technique. That's probably what the moment was like for me.

Q. Your first match as No. 1 will be against Romania in Fed Cup. What can you tell us about that tie?

IGA SWIATEK: That's actually truth. Well, you know, Fed Cup is always such a different tournament. You're in a team. There is always like so many fans coming on these matches, and they are always really excited. That's the only time except Olympics we have opportunity to play with Poland on our backs.

Yeah, it's always stressful, and I don't have much experiences in playing Fed Cup. I played like, I don't know, three times and it's always pretty tricky. So this year is going to be a great experience for me. Actually, I hope I'm going to use the experience I had on previous years.

You know, I don't know who I'm gonna face yet. Simona is probably playing.

Q. She announced that she will not play. She withdrew from the Romanian team.

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, I didn't know. So I don't know if it's going to Sorana, yeah? Okay. We don't know.

Q. Definitely not Simona.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I don't know. I'm pretty excited for that, because I also didn't play much in my country. It's going to be in Poland. It's going to be tricky, and I hope I'm going to be like mentally prepared and mentally able to stay, you know, focused, even though there is going to be a lot going on around.

Q. Extra pressure for you, all expectations from your fans after you become No. 1?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure, but I feel like I'm ready for that. Honestly, I have been doing well like cutting off the expectations from the outside. It was always, for me, harder to deal with my own expectations that I had for myself.

You know, I know that there may be some ups and downs, but honestly, who doesn't have them? So I'm keeping it cool.

Q. You had rivalry with Simona, or you have four matches already, you won against her in Indian Wells, you played in different surfaces. How is it to play against Simona?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, it's always really hard mentally, for sure, but also physically. She's that kind of player who is never giving up. She's a fighter, and I'm pretty happy that I had the opportunity to play against her so many times, because it's not often, I feel like it's not often to play, you know, for so many times against players who have been on tour for more than 10 years.

So I learned a lot through like every match against her. In Indian Wells I felt like I did already such a progress that I can really, you know, win these kind of matches.

But Simona, she's a great player, and actually, I feel like she's been that kind of person who, you know, makes tennis more popular in Romania and in Europe, so she's a great like role model. Yeah.

Q. Just getting back to the No. 1 aspect, the other day I was asking Taylor Fritz, after he won the biggest title of his career last week, if he treated himself to something, like something special, like something he wouldn't normally go and buy. He said it wasn't so much for him but for the people around him that gave him greater pleasure in buying for. If you can think back to Roland Garros, what did you do in a similar situation after there? What do you think you might do on Monday with No. 1?

IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, after Roland Garros, as I said, it was like so many emotions flowing around, and I was pretty confused. It was hard for me actually to celebrate for a few days, because as I said, I had like many doubts and I didn't know what's gonna happen.

I remember we went to a great dinner, because one member of my team also had birthday that day. So it was pretty special.

But from like buying things, I'm not the kind of person who would like do that and go, like, shopping and buy stuff. So I'm not gonna -- yeah, I don't even have idea what would I buy, you know. It's more like about moments for me and, yeah, and maybe a celebration in my team.

But on the other hand, I'm also not good at celebrating or going to parties or having loud dinners. After the tournament, I usually just take time to rest because I'm exhausted. That's my main goal, you know.