Iga Swiatek Reveals Most Embarrassing Things She Has Done During Matches
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Iga Swiatek's most difficult question at a recent Australian Open press conference came from a young fan who wanted to know the most embarrassing things she has done on the court.
Swiatek has undoubtedly had more positive than embarrassing experiences on the WTA Tour. Her five Grand Slam titles, 125 weeks at world No. 1, and tens of millions earned in prize money demonstrate that.
The Pole was not embarrassed at any point during her opening two Australian Open matches. She began by winning a superb match with Katerina Siniakova before making a statement by crushing Rebecca Sramkova in the second round.
However, even the best players in the world have embarrassing moments. No professional athlete goes through their entire career without experiencing things with the cameras rolling that they wish did not happen.
Swiatek might have been expecting an easy press conference after beating Sramkova. She looked surprised and briefly put her head in her hands after the young fan asked the question, eliciting laughter from the reporters in the room.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Swiatek named the times she has cried on the court. The four-time French Open champion is usually calm on the court but sometimes becomes emotional during or after matches.
"Well... I cried plenty of times. Well I wouldn't say... Well it was pretty embarrassing. That's why I cried a bit more and a bit more. I had a match where I cried for like ten minutes, I think some people(points to reporters) from here remember, from this room."
Swiatek also gave a second example. She recounted going onto court at the Indian Wells Open with toilet paper sticking to her leg and not realizing that was the case.
"I went out on-court at Indian Wells once with toilet paper sticking to my leg. Like, on my skirt. So that was also embarrassing."
The tough questioning from the young fan did not end there for Swiatek. She was asked about having any friends on the court. The World No. 2 answered by explaining the difference between having friends on and off the court.
"Well, on the court not really, because you want to win against them. I played with my best friend a year ago and it was tough because I needed to forget she was my best friend to win against her. But off the court I have some friends. Maybe not 100, but some."
Swiatek was probably relieved that the fan followed it with an easier question. She asked whether the tennis star had won any trophies. As the most successful WTA player since 2022, Swiatek could answer that confidently.
"I can show you. I won some nice trophies, yeah. Not here, but other parts of the world."
The Pole's next hurdle to reaching a first Australian Open final will be against Emma Raducanu in the third round. Raducanu played excellently to defeat Amanda Anisimova in her last match and is in good form. It could be one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament.
