Iga Swiatek spoke openly after her 2023 China Open triumph, admitting that she really needed a run like this to regain confidence.
Being one of the best players in the world doesn't change the fact that you're human. Much like all humans, tennis players do have doubts, and Swiatek had plenty of doubts after failing to meet her goals during the US Open stretch.
It's generally been an odd season for Swiatek, arguably great and bad at the same time. It's nowhere near what she did last year, but still pretty good when compared to her peers. In any case, beating Samsonova and winning the China Open felt really good for the Pole.
I would say the overall state that I kind of had for a couple of weeks. I feel like this tournament will give me confidence for the rest of my career that there's always a chance to overcome and work on what you do or what you feel. You can always get better. Sometimes it's pretty easy, but we tend to make it more complicated in our heads.
I'm really happy that I just focused on hard work. It paid off -- maybe not instantly -- but I'm happy that after US Open I just got back to basics and just worked really hard tennis-wise. I'll just continue to do that.
The job is not done, though, as Swiatek is eyeing a strong finish at the WTA Finals. She failed to win the event last year, and it's certainly a trophy she'd like to have in her cabinet. It's happening later this month, so there is plenty of time to rest up and prepare.
The final will be in Cancun this year, and we should see some good tennis under the Mexican Sun. Swiatek will be joined by the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, and more. It should be good.
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