Former tennis player Martina Navratilova gave Iga Swiatek some harsh advice before she began defending her US Open title. Following her recent loss to Coco Gauff in Cincinnati, the world No. 1 has been open about having nothing left in the tank. Nevertheless, Navratilova advised Swiatek to either “suck it up” or decide not to compete in the US Open.
Swiatek is getting ready to defend her US Open title. The 22-year-old’s North American tour hasn’t gone as planned thus far because she lost in the semifinals in Cincinnati and Canada.
Swiatek has received severe criticism from retired tennis great Navratilova, who advised her to take some time off if she wouldn’t get on with it.
Navratilova expressed her thoughts during a conversation and said: “The stress on the players, I understand that – and Iga being Polish had to play Warsaw. Normally, if she wasn’t Polish, she would have never played that event and would have taken an extra couple of weeks of rest so maybe that’s why she’s tired.”
She further added: “But I still have to say, ‘Come on, just suck it up’. It’s September, you haven’t played that many tournaments and this is the US Open. So if you can’t get up for that… if you’re that mentally tired, don’t play. Take the time off and concentrate on the season-ending tournament. Just take the time off.”
Swiatek at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2023
Ranked world no.1, Iga has achieved a compiled 55-9 win-loss record in 2023. Swiatek is currently competing at the U.S. Open where she ousted the world no.86 Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-1 and the world no.322 Daria Saville 6-3 6-4.
Iga Swiatek will take on the world no.145 Kaja Juvan in the 3rd round. Their current head to head is 2-0 for Swiatek.
The Pole conquered 4 titles in 2023 in Doha, Stuttgart, French Open and Warsaw. Swiatek reached the final in Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Championships) and in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open).
Iga won 15 titles in her career: 8 on hard courts and 7 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Iga Swiatek |
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