Iga Swiatek is one of the best players in the world, but that nearly never happened, according to her father, who spoke about her beginnings.
The Pole is one of the best players in the world and has been for a while, but the road to get there wasn't particularly easy. Her father was an athlete, so he knew very well how unlikely it was to work in the first place.
She worked very hard, but that's only half the story. Tennis is a very expensive sport, and many tennis players struggle with finances. Novak Djokovic talked about it often, and he is just one of many stories of players who didn't come from privileged backgrounds.
For Swiatek, finances became an issue as well. It was a tough moment for her father, Tomasz Swiatek, who had to explain to his daughter that she might perhaps have to stop training.
He described the moment in a very open interview with Sport.tv.pl, shedding light on the career that may have never happened.
"There was a moment when I was against the wall financially. When I explained to Iga that there might come a time when we would have to stop training, I was convinced to try again."
"There was a moment when I earned enough money to earn my bread and butter, but there was nothing extra thanks to which I could afford additional financing."
Ultimately, things worked out well, and Swiatek was able to continue her training. She didn't disappoint and worked her way to becoming one of the best players in the world.
It's a familiar story to many others in tennis, but luckily it worked out. Some of those stories didn't work out, which is a shame, but that's tennis. It's a pretty expensive sport, and it has destroyed promising careers before.