Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek admitted it was “surreal” when she became the new world No. 1 but added she needed to stay focused because she was still in the middle of the Miami Masters.
After Maria Sakkari lost her Miami opener and Swiatek defeated Viktorija Golubic, the Pole was guaranteed to reach the No. 1 spot after Miami.
Ensuring the No. 1 spot with a second round victory didn’t negatively impact Swiatek as she remained focused and won the title without a dropped set.
“At the beginning it felt a little bit like I had to pinch myself. It was a bit surreal and overwhelmed me,” Swiatek said, per Eurosport.
“But it happened during the Miami Open and I still had to concentrate on my tennis and on the next match, so that helped me to stay the same kind of player I was even before I became world No. 1.
“There were a lot of emotions but I had to postpone them to after the tournament so I could stay focused and play well.”
Swiatek: It felt like it was my birthday
“I got a lot of messages. My phone, for three days, was like my birthday with messages from everywhere,” Swiatek added.
“A lot of people congratulated me. Ash [Barty] for example. She was one of the first people that texted me. Lots of players onsite too [in Miami], so that was very nice. Rafa [Nadal] texted me as well, and many people on Instagram or Twitter. I can’t even remember everyone.”
Swiatek has been working with a sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz since 2019.
Abramowicz is often credited for helping Swiatek become a mentally strong player.
“When I started to work with Daria in 2019, my main goal was to improve things on court. Being more focused, control my emotions,” Swiatek revealed.
“But then it switched to talking more about my personal life, working on my confidence as a person and growing up, dealing with popularity, or the business side of sport. I feel we’ve been working on everything.”