THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 25, 2022

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You're opening Centre Court on Tuesday. How did you find out? Did you request that or was it a surprise?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, no, we didn't really request that. I know that there has been some discussions about who should open, and I feel really privileged that I've been chosen. There are many players here who have won Wimbledon and had the great tournament.

Yeah, it's a great thing for me. I wasn't expecting that because still I only made it to fourth round last year and that's my best result.

Yeah, I feel privileged and proud of myself mostly. Hopefully it's going to be a good show (smiling).

Q. You're on this incredible unbeaten run. You're the big favorite. How can you translate your form onto the grass this year?

IGA SWIATEK: That's a hard question.

Honestly I still feel like I need to figure out grass. Last year for sure, it was that kind of tournament where I didn't know what to expect. Then match by match I realized maybe I can do more and more.

Still this year I only played, like, 10 days on grass, so it's not a lot. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare. But I'm just trying to stay open-minded and kind of take positives from the situation and realize that I can play without any expectations.

I have so much, I don't know, successes this season that I don't have to kind of show everybody that I need to play well on every tournament because it's tennis, we have ups and downs. So I try to play without expectations and just see what this tournament brings me.

Q. Those 10 days, were they by choice or injury?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, no. I needed time to rest after such intense beginning of the season. Keeping up with that streak, playing tournaments week by week, it wasn't easy. So that was just the best decision for me to stay in a good shape.

Q. One of the stories of the tournament is the comeback of Serena Williams obviously. I just want to know what your opinion is of her comeback, what you think she's capable of? Second, I saw you practice on Centre Court yesterday. She was next to you. You both were very focused. Just want to know how is your relationship?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, when I saw her yesterday, I was pretty, like, overwhelmed, you know (smiling). I felt like I am still, I don't know, kind of new on WTA. I didn't know how to react perfectly. I wanted to meet her.

I saw that she had so many people around her. I don't know her team. It was pretty weird. So, yeah, I came back to, like, myself few years earlier when I was too shy to say hi to anybody for a second.

But I feel that, you know, just seeing her around is great because she's such a legend, there's nobody that has done so much in tennis.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know honestly about tennis because it's pretty hard to say. I haven't practiced with her, so I don't know how it feels. Honestly, I've never played against her, so I don't have even comparison. I can only say what I see on the screen. That's not a lot.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that she's going to be in good shape because she has so much experience coming back from breaks or just playing on Grand Slams. I think she can use it.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your memories of winning the junior year and how significant that is in your feelings about this surface and your confidence on it.

IGA SWIATEK: Hmm...

Well, for sure it was pretty surprising for me that I won Wimbledon because that was my second tournament or third on grass. Basically I was aiming for Roland Garros. I already said that. I think I was just so motivated and I had so much just willingness and energy to win junior Grand Slam that I kind of used it here.

But I still feel like for sure the next year was pretty tough because my expectations went high, and that was the first time I played in main draw in women's tournament, so it didn't help that year.

For sure right now I want to use the experience. I remember how the conditions were changing during the tournament. This is what I can take from it.

But honestly, it's not like junior tournaments are. They are different, you know? A lot of things can happen there. You can see how hard is it to transition to WTA.

For sure I want to use the experience that I had on grass, but I don't know if it's giving me a lot in terms of all the atmosphere that is here. Right now we're even in different locker rooms and, yeah, I stayed at Aorangi during that tournament. I still feel like I need to experience more.

Q. What did you do since the French Open, mentally, to reset after all the tennis you've played?

IGA SWIATEK: Basically I stay home because after being on tour, I feel like this is the best way for me to recover.

It was hard to chill out and to, like, not do anything because I felt like adrenaline was up. I felt like I still need to get some tasks done and have some goals.

Yeah, my goal was to, I don't know, clean up the house or something (smiling). I couldn't actually lay down and just do nothing after such an intense time.

But I accepted that and I, for sure, did like anything I wanted. I didn't have to worry about eating good or sleeping good, so that was pretty nice.

But it was just, you know, like seven days, then I came back to practicing hard. I don't know if that's enough for people like us who are working on the highest level to chill out. For sure physically it helped me a lot.

Q. You were asked about 2018, that junior championship. That was only four years ago. How much do you feel that Iga would be impressed with what you've been able to do in those four years since and what about you do you feel has allowed you to take on sort of each chapter and mountain as you have?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, just tennis-wise I think everything changed and I am pretty happy that I made such a progress. Still four years, it's not like a lot of time. But that was probably the most important time in my career in terms of, like, developing and finding my game and learning how to do new stuff on court.

I watched some highlights that popped up on Instagram, it looked like slow-motion tennis, honestly. I'm pretty happy that right now I'm on different level and I could do that transition well.

Yeah, it seems like a different world honestly. A lot has happened since then. I'm happy that I was able to, like, reach every stage of the journey and not stop at any of it. I was moving forward, and that's great.

Q. Do you remember the first time you ever saw Centre Court, first time you were ever in there? What was it? When was it? What were your impressions of the place? Does it strike you as being different from the main stadiums at other tournaments?

IGA SWIATEK: I think the first time I was there was before the junior tournament that I won. Honestly, the court was great, but I was also able to go through the place where all the trophies are. So, yeah, that was pretty amazing experience.

I'm not the one that is always like looking at the trophies, I don't know, imagining myself there. These trophies are so nice and so beautiful. Yeah, it was pretty inspiring and motivational, so that was the first time I was there.

Last year was the first time I played on Centre Court. So still when I'm playing matches and when I'm actually performing, it's not like I can use the whole experience because I'm just focused on what's going on on court.

But I remember all the little tour that I had before the junior Wimbledon was great.

Q. I was wondering about the process of becoming world No. 1. Does it feel normal now to you? How important was it to win a Grand Slam title sort of so soon after becoming No. 1?

IGA SWIATEK: It feels more normal, for sure. When I'm saying that out loud, it still feels surreal. When I'm living my life day by day I've got used to it. I'm just trying to use that position and take as much as possible from it.

What was the second part of the question?

Q. How important was it to win a Grand Slam so soon after becoming world No. 1?

IGA SWIATEK: I think for me, I always need to kind of confirm in my head that I'm in the right place and that I deserve to be here.

For sure when it happened in Miami, I still felt like I remember how it is to have to play against Ash, how you feel that she has so much variety and much more options than you. I felt like I still needed some time to, like, prove myself that this is the right place to be.

But I was able to show so much consistency. I didn't do any kind of, like, big mistakes during Stuttgart, Rome, Roland Garros, that I realized maybe I am in the right place. Right now for sure the next goal is to stay here.

I'm just proud of myself that I was able to do that and I coped well with all the expectations and the pressure. Because at the beginning I was No. 2 for, like, I don't know, five days. I felt like it wasn't planned, you know? Yeah.

Q. There was a lot of talk in Paris about your streak. I just wonder, having the time off, did it still feel like you're on a streak? How does that figure in your head?

IGA SWIATEK: I think time off has nothing to do with it. It's more like being on grass and kind of not knowing what's going to happen for me.

This is one reason why I feel like kind of the -- I feel like I don't want to, you know, focus on the streak, like winning more matches. I just want to realize what's going on on grass, how to play the best kind of tennis on it.

It's easier not to focus on the streak. I think it's helpful. But on the other hand it gave me a lot of confidence. So I'm going to try to use it on this tournament, as well.

Q. What are your thoughts about Rafa Nadal and what he's been doing this year?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's amazing. I mean, I watched Australian Open final live and I could see how much work he's putting. Sometimes when he's not even playing his best tennis, how he's coming back, finding solutions on court. It's a great inspiration.

For sure, the way he's coping with, I don't know, injury and the pain that he has, it's just the example of how the best kind of athlete deal with that.

I don't know, it's just really inspirational. Only Rafa could do it, you know?