Three-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek said she had to learn how to manage the pressure of being world No.1 and not let expectations weigh her down as she prepares to defend her French Open title next month.
The 21-year-old beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-4 in Sunday’s Stuttgart Open final for her second successful title defence this year, after winning in Doha.
Asked how she had settled into her status as world No. 1, Poland's Swiatek she had turned out the noise and was focused on her game. ”Last year was really, really tough, and I felt like this season may be tough, because of what people are saying and expectations from the outside,” she said.
”I’m happy that I managed to work through it. That was probably the biggest thing that I had to go through at the beginning of the year.”
Following her fourth-round exit at the Australian Open in January, Swiatek said she had been affected by the pressure and that she had been going into matches hoping not to lose rather than wanting to win.
”Now I feel like I just can use my experience a little bit more, more than worry about stuff,” she said.“I’m just happy that I’m world No.1 for more than a year, and it’s an exciting time.”
The French Open runs from May 28-June 11.
WTA rankings
Swiatek started her 56th consecutive week as the world No.1 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday.
Swiatek returned from a rib injury, which forced her to miss the Miami Open and Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, to successfully defend her title in Stuttgart.
Former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova moved up two spots to 15th with her run to the quarter finals where she lost to Swiatek in three sets. However, a knee injury has forced her to withdraw from the Madrid Open.
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu slipped 17 places to 85th after her first-round loss to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart.
The 20-year-old Briton could drop out of the top 100 if she suffers another early exit in Madrid.
Written with Reuters inputs
