Iga Swiatek issues brutal statement on how big pressure she can feel at times

Iga Swiatek admits she sometimes feels like “the whole weight of Poland on my shoulders” as the Polish tennis superstar also reveals she never envisioned that by becoming a tennis player she would also become such a major public figure in her country. 

Swiatek, who will be celebrating her 23rd birthday on May 31st, is now widely considered one of the best athletes in her country and her outstanding success has led to tennis becoming much more popular in Poland over the last couple of years. 

While Swiatek feels external pressure to do well, there is also an internal pressure coming from her as the 22-year-old Pole is known as “a perfectionist” and she never stops working on getting better and improving. 

“I don’t know, I just often have situations where I feel the whole weight of Poland on my shoulders. My perfectionism is pretty hard on me,” Swiatek said in a short film shot for her clothing sponsor On Running. 

“The person that you see on camera is not that different than in real life. Being an athlete now is becoming a public figure. I wasn’t aware of that when I wanted to be a tennis player. That this is going to be a big part of life.

“With social media everywhere and with people sharing every piece of information, it’s just more pressure because of the fact that every step we take is practically watched and often judged by people.”

Iga Swiatek © Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill

Swiatek’s message for the Poles

This week, Swiatek arrived in Paris and she is preparing to launch a quest to defend her French Open title and also win her fifth Grand Slam. 

Naturally, there will be a lot of attention in Poland on Swiatek’s French Open run as the Pole again enters the lone clay Grand Slam tournament of the year as the top favorite. 

But in her message, Swiatek highlighted to the people of Warsaw and the entire Poland that their support means very much to her but that they should not set unrealistic expectations on her.

“I hope that fans will understand that I am human being too,” Swiatek said.