Iga Swiatek expects to deal with a lot of pressure at this year's Olympics because the event is going to be played at Roland Garros, where she's been dominant in the past.
The 22-year-old has been really dominant at Roland Garros in the last few years. She won the last two editions of the event comfortably, albeit last year's triumph was quite a bit tougher than the one before.
In total, Swiatek has three Grand Slam trophies from France to her name, which certainly adds another dimension to her Olympics bid. She will be expected to do really well because the Olympics will be played at the Roland Garros venue.
In reality, she's going to be named the number one favorite for the event, which is quite a bit of pressure to deal with, especially because the eyes of her whole nation will be pointed toward her.
The pressure will also be internal because it's one of her priorities for this year. She's always been very proud of representing Poland, and this is the most prestigious tennis event she can win for her country.
"Well, yes, they are in the plans. I mean, it's a priority, honestly. But for now, there are so many tournaments before that, I'm not really focussing on them (Olympics)."
"They're on a different surface, you know, different continent. So, for now, I'm taking everything step by step. I don't have any expectations because I know how tough this tournament is. And how hard it is to handle it sometimes?"
It's going to be very interesting to see how Swiatek handles all of the pressure. Last year's Roland Garros seemed to have really impacted her with the pressure, adding the gravitas of the Olympics, and she could find herself struggling.
She was in Tokyo, though, so that experience is going to help her adjust. Speaking further ahead of the 2024 Miami Open, the Pole feels that she will be able to take on the challenge.
"I know there's gonna be a lot of pressure on me because it's clay, it's Roland Garros. But honestly, I was in Tokyo. I've been through all this, you know, Olympic vibe even though it was in COVID times, you could feel it."
"And I just hope that I'm going to do a better job at managing it. But, you know, in terms of the performance, I think there's no sense to talk about it because it's a long time until the Olympics."
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