Due to the widespread popularity and prestige of tennis, she is recognized by fans worldwide. It's no exaggeration to say that she and Robert Lewandowski form a duo of ambassadors for Polish sport. The difference is that the famous footballer's career is slowly coming to an end, while Iga—assuming she avoids any serious injuries—has many years of competitive sports life ahead of her.
Iga Świątek FOT Jacek Szydlowski Forum-0793123242 (Source: DlaPolonii.pl)
Iga Świątek was born in May 2001 in Warsaw. She grew up in her family home in Raszyn, near Warsaw, where she still finds moments of respite and peace between tournaments and training. She absorbed the atmosphere of competitive sports from a young age, as her father, Tomasz, a member of the AZS-AWF Warsaw team, was an accomplished rower and an Olympian in Seoul in the quadruple sculls. Her mother, meanwhile, is an orthodontist. The older daughter, Agata, followed in her footsteps; although she also enthusiastically practiced tennis, she ultimately decided to pursue a professional career and became a dentist. Despite this, the sisters maintain a close relationship. Agata attends important sporting events for Iga.
Iga Świątek began training at the age of four and, practically from the beginning of her tennis journey, was considered a great talent. Initially, she played on local courts, then trained at the Mera Warszawa club, which was founded in the late 1970s and remains a leading tennis club in the country (Agnieszka Radwańska, among others, trained there). She later moved to the courts of Legia Warsaw. The player often emphasizes in public how much support she received from her loved ones, especially her father – her first coach.
After several years of training, her first national and then international successes came. As a teenager, she won high-profile tournaments – in 2015, she partnered with Maja Chwalińska to win the European Junior Championships, and a year later, she triumphed in the junior edition of the Fed Cup in singles. In June 2018, she won the French Open in doubles (with American Catherine McNally), and in July of that year, she won the junior Wimbledon singles.
From then on, things moved very quickly. In 2019, she reached the fourth round of the French Open, losing to Romanian Simona Halep, but a year later she won the same tournament, becoming the first Polish woman to win a Grand Slam singles title. This success earned her second place in the "Przegląd Sportowy" poll for the best Polish athlete of 2020, just behind Robert Lewandowski.
2022 was a year full of successes, bringing Iga and Polish tennis moments of great glory. First, she reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing only to American Danielle Collins. Then came a string of impressive victories in several tournaments in a row, in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, and Rome. Meanwhile, a historic moment occurred – on April 4, 2022 – when she became the first Polish woman to top the WTA rankings. She remained the leader for the next 75 weeks. At the French Open she once again gave her opponents no chance, defeating Coco Gauff in the final, and then also at the US Open, where she defeated Ons Jabeur in the final match.
This time, fans had no doubt who deserved the title of best athlete of the year – it was awarded to Iga Świątek, a similar result in 2023, when she triumphed again on the courts of Roland Garros. She repeated this success in 2024, achieving her fourth individual victory at the French Open. At the Olympic Games in Paris, she was considered a leading contender for the gold medal, but ultimately finished in a distinguished third place.
Despite her young age, Iga Świątek has become a role model, not just for young athletes. Everyone admires her not only as a professional athlete but also as an exceptional woman committed to social causes. Like many other outstanding athletes, she believes that intellectual development is just as important as physical development.
I really appreciate that people value my opinion, that I can promote reading, and speak openly about the importance of taking care of one's well-being and mental health. This can change our reality for the better. I also want to talk about difficult things, because I am a human being like everyone else, and like everyone else, I face challenges that are slightly larger than average in my professional life. But it can be difficult, and I hope that people will respect when I don't speak up on a topic, when I don't have the solution or the strength to act on every issue
she said in an interview.
In her free time, the tennis player enjoys reading. One of her favorite authors is Ken Follett, a British author of crime and historical novels, who is proud that a world-renowned tennis star is an admirer of his work. Iga Świątek also enjoys reading Agatha Christie and Haruki Murakami.
She concentrates on her matches by listening to music, including legendary rock bands like Pink Floyd and AC/DC. At home, she prefers jazz, alternative music, and soul. The tennis player has been involved in charity work for several years. She's also active on social media, which is how she communicates with her fans. She runs a series on Instagram: "I read with Iga. This year I'll read 12 books or more."
