Iga Swiatek called expectations to win all the time ridiculous ahead of the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, where she hopes to win the title.
The Polish player was world number one for over a year thanks to some amazing performances. She was by far the most consistent player last year, winning an incredible amount of matches.
People basically got used to her winning all the time, and when she didn't this year, fan opinion soured. She never really expected to win all of the matches and still doesn't yet.
The bar she set last year has many people wondering what is wrong with her this year. Realistically, nothing is wrong as she's still one of the best players in the world, firmly ranked number two right now with a chance to finish the year as number one.
A recent title run in China proved that she has what it takes to win big trophies. The expectations were obviously a talking point before the WTA Finals, though she still deems them ridiculous.
Yeah, for sure sometimes I felt like it's just kind of ridiculous because people got used to me winning. It's not like it's going to happen all the time. So I think this season was kind of more normal, I would say, like most of the seasons we play, for even the top players.
I think the main thing that I want to avoid is forgetting that this was also a good season and I still won some great tournaments. I won a Grand Slam, so... For sure, comparing everything to 2020, I can kind of tell you pretty confidently that I may not have a season like that again, but I'm going to do my best.
High expectations can weigh on a player because of the added pressure, and it's something Swiatek tries to manage as best as she can. Per her own words, she still needs to get better at it.