WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 17, 2022

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/S. Stephens

6-4, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: That was a solid performance against a Grand Slam champion. How do you feel about how you did out there?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, yeah, for sure I'm pretty happy that I started well, both sets. I had some trouble closing it earlier, but I'm really happy that in those important moments I was able to refocus again.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. On court you said that you were happy with the win because it had been a little bit tricky and a little bit difficult the last few days. What did you mean by that? Your performance, what did you get out of it?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure, confidence and for sure ability to kind of, I don't know, reset after what happened on practices, you know. Yeah, I feel like I had like ups and downs in terms of practicing here.

Probably, you know, many reasons, but I don't really want to get into it because I'm trying to really focus on the future and kind of not coming back to expectations and everything that happened on last tournaments on hard court, you know.

So, yeah, I'm really proud of my season, but I want to kind of really be fearless again, so I'm trying to do that again, yeah.

Q. One sort of look-back-at-the-season question if you are up for it, it was your 50th win of the season already. I'm curious if you had a favorite win?

IGA SWIATEK: Favorite win?

Q. Favorite win, yeah.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, oh, my God. Well, for sure those matches maybe in Indian Wells, those three sets against Simona and Angie. Yeah, it was pretty tricky, but also, on Australian Open when I could come back after losing first set, that really gave me a lot. So either one of these.

Q. What do you think about the US Open balls? Do you like them?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, my God. Well, honestly, I don't like them. Well, I have heard many players actually complaining, as well. Woman players, because we have different balls than men. I know it sounds weird (smiling).

Well, but basically the thing is that they are lighter. They fly like crazy. You know, we have really powerful games right now. It's not like 10 years ago except Serena, girls, I think they played slower, right?

Right now we play powerful, and we kind of can't loosen up our hands with these balls. I know that there are many players who complain, and many of them are top 10.

We make more mistakes, for sure. So I don't think if that's like really nice to watch visually. I don't know why they are different than men's ones. I don't know, like 15 years ago probably women had some elbow injuries because the balls were heavier and they changed them to women's balls, but right now we are so physically well prepared that I don't think it would happen.

Plus we can't get those balls in Europe, or actually, when we buy them at store, they are totally different than the tournament balls, so when I'm practicing with US Open balls at home, I'm practicing with men's ones.

Yeah, I think even this situation is pretty hard in terms of injuries, because we are stringing our racquets more and more tight, and this is really confusing for our arms and hands and for our touch.

Yeah, I'm not sure, but I don't know if probably you have talked about it with Ash when she was playing, but she didn't like these balls either. I feel, it's really hard to control them, but everybody has same conditions, so we are trying to deal with that. I don't get why they are different, honestly.

Q. When people have complained, do you know what the response has been?

IGA SWIATEK: From what?

Q. When people complain, I don't know, to the US Open or...

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's more like we are complaining to each other. I know that last year we actually talked with WTA about it, with Steve. Well, first of all, we talked about getting one ball for whole swing, because in 2019 I played four tournaments: Washington Toronto, Cincinnati, US Open. Washington it was Penn. Toronto it was US Open. Cincinnati, Penn again. US Open, obviously US Open.

But this year it changed, so at least we are consistent right now. But still, I think those balls are horrible, especially after like three games of really hard playing, they are getting more and more light. At the end, you can't even, you know, serve like 170 kilometers per hour because you know it's going to fly like crazy. Yeah, I think they are pretty bad. Sorry.

Q. In Toronto, were they also Wilson, US Open balls? In Toronto, what balls were you playing with in Toronto?

IGA SWIATEK: US Open. So right now it got consistent, but still, me and Paula Badosa last year, we talked with Steve about changing to men's balls.

I don't think it would be a problem because it's still the same company, it's Wilson, but, yeah, maybe we should push a bit more. I stopped actually pushing and trying to convince WTA, because the war in Ukraine happened and I refocused on something else.

Yeah, but honestly, any tournament I play with these balls, I didn't feel well. Yeah, but maybe this one is going to be the first one (smiling).

Q. Is this the only time during the year when there are different men's and women's balls?

IGA SWIATEK: In Dubai, as well. But we don't have men's tournament in Dubai, right?

Q. Not simultaneously.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah. But in Dubai we play with these balls.

Q. The same US Open balls?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah.

Q. People always talk about the beauty of clay court tennis and grass court tennis. I was wondering, what is the beauty of hard court tennis?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure, like you're not going to mishit because the ball bounces in a weird way. So I think we can be really more consistent in terms of like longer rallies maybe.

We are playing faster, so I think physically we have to be really well prepared. This is, you know, hard to do, but when you do that, I think you can really get beautiful tennis out there.

Q. Is it physically harder to play on hard court than on clay?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I can play on both, so I don't know...

Q. No, I mean physically more aches kind of thing on hard court or on clay?

IGA SWIATEK: It's, I mean, the same amount of pain (smiling). The same amount of, like, tiredness. But you know that I can really play well on clay, but there are girls who prefer hard courts. But this season I realized I can play on both.

Q. On the topic of the conditions over the course of the swing, Kasatkina won in San Jose beating a lot of power players. Halep obviously wins in Toronto. We think of hard court tennis as particularly favoring offensive-minded players. Do you think that the conditions, with the changes like you were talking about, that it could shade towards more counter-puncher, more consistent players?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I don't know. It's hard to say. You mean that they are playing a little bit slower?

Q. More control.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, yeah, for sure, it's helpful with those balls, but also, in Dubai, yeah, Ostapenko won and she's playing really hard. I remember just playing against her and not having time with those balls to control it.

So it depends. I'm still like I didn't figure it out, but for sure I'm happy for Simona and Dasha, because I think they are playing really great, so it feels like it was coming, you know, them winning those titles.