There are very few things Iga Swiatek hates more than losing a match, but losing one while representing Poland has got to be up there.
Iga Swiatek was recently named the Polish Sportsperson of the Year. That's a great honor for someone who is deeply patriotic and is not shy about it. She's talked about her pride in representing Poland many times, and while her event choices might not reflect that, she truly enjoys wearing red and white.
This year is a big one for her as it presents her with a unique chance to achieve her greatest dream as a tennis player - winning a gold medal at the Olympics. Swiatek's father was an Olympian, so she grew up knowing how important the Games are.
She got her chance to debut a few years ago in Tokyo, a proud moment for the Swiatek household, but unfortunately, no medal came as she lost to Paula Badosa 3-6 6-7(4).
This year's games will be played on the Roland Garros courts; courts she ruled in the previous two years. She's a three-time champion at the event and is widely considered the best clay player on the WTA Tour (121-17 all-time record on the surface).
A practice run for the Olympics came at the recently concluded United Cup. She was wearing red and white and was playing out of her mind. A perfect 5-0 record in singles with wins over Beatriz Haddad Maia (6-2, 6-2), Sara Sorribes Tormo (6-2, 6-1), Qinwen Zheng (6-2, 6-3), Caroline Garcia (4-6, 6-1, 6-1) and Angelique Kerber (6-3, 6-0).
Just an amazing run that, unfortunately, ended in defeat. Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz couldn't overcome Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund in the doubles, and Hurkacz wasted two match points as well. Just a brutal loss that left Swiatek visibly devastated. She reflected on it on social media.
Sometimes it's the matter of tenths of a second, of millimeters, of one more stroke...that's sport and it constantly reminds us to stay humble and grounded. We did our best yesterday and Team Germany was better (congrats!).
The competition is not hugely important in the grand scheme of things but Swiatek hates to disappoint, especially because so many in Poland look up to her for some joy.
She's one of the most prominent sportspeople in the country and one of the rare ones that can deliver big victories. She struck a pacifying tone in her message addressing her fans directly.
I know that you - our fans wished for different result but I hope you'd appreciate the effort, energy and quality the whole team brought throughout the whole tournament. We will have another chance to do better and we will (as always) again and again do our best.
Yes, that chance is coming up at the Olympics. She will play in the singles and mixed doubles with Hurkacz. Anything short of a gold medal would be a disappointment. We'll see what happens, but for now, for her, it's all about Melbourne.
On my end...that was a very solid week with some good performances against challenging opponents. So I'm heading to Melbourne with smile and some work to do. Thank you Team Poland, thank you United Cup for making this event possible (it was funnnnn this year). See you soon!
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