Iga Swiatek, champion of Roland Garros: an effusive celebration that ended with the trophy broken after being crowned in Paris

Iga Swiatek, number one in the WTA ranking, continues to reign at Roland Garros, where she became champion on Saturday for the third time and celebrated her fourth crown in a Grand Slam.La tournament Polish won 6-2, 5-7 and 6-4 against the Czech Karolina Muchova, whose triumph in the semifinals against the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number two in the world, kept safe the leadership of the ranking of the winner on the brick dust of the Philippe Chatrier.

For the champion it is the third consecration in the French Open, which saw her win in 2020 and last year, when she also conquered the US Open Two hours and 46 minutes demanded the winner to endorse her crown and become, at 22 years old, the youngest tennis player to win four Grand Slam titles since the American Serena Williams did it in 2002.

Such was Swiatek's happiness that he left behind his usual sobriety at the celebration. And his hand went out. It is that at the time of raising the trophy on the stage mounted on the field of the Philippe Chatrier stadium suffered a small incident.

It is that when he raised the glass over his head, he began to shake it hard and the lid took on a life of its own and flew through the air. The champion smiled and one of the tournament authorities came over to put her together. Yes, a blooper that went viral instantly.

Iga, recalled her teenage days when she spent hours and hours listening to heavy rock, and decided to leave it aside to shake the trophy again and celebrate her new Grand Slam title.

Who is Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek, the discreet teenage hard rock fan who stared at Rafa Nadal with marveling eyes, follows the path of her idol at Roland Garros, with three titles in four years. Since the beginning of the war he has strongly supported Ukraine, whose flag he always wears on his cap.

"Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games": With her helmets over her ears, the Polish woman enters the courts listening to Guns N'Roses and other hard rock bands that she was still in her teens.

Like Nadal, Swiatek is aware of his responsibilities off the tennis courts. In July he organized an exhibition party to raise funds for Ukraine, the flag that sports in a bow placed on his inseparable cap since the war began.

"It is quite obvious that we must support Ukraine, I will do so until the war ends," he said. The event in Warsaw raised more than $500,000 (464,000 euros).

When he won for the first time in Paris less than three years ago (the 2020 edition was played in October), there was hardly anyone to applaud in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not even when he lifted the trophy without having lost a single set in seven matches starting from the 54th position in the ranking.

Swiatek had played his first Grand Slam tournament in Australia in 2019, reaching the second round. A few months later he beat Simona Halep in 45 minutes in her first Roland Garros.

Champion. Iga Swiatek. Photo: AFP

The planets began to align in 2020: a round of 20 in Melbourne, a third round at the US Open, and the title at Roland Garros, the first she achieved on the professional circuit, with victories against contrasting players such as Halep, Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki or Donna Vekic. A trajectory that propelled her to the top <> in the world.

Another notable change: Swiatek, who was still a student in 2019, managed to graduate in 2020. A relief for her, but also for her coach.

Before, "tennis was not the main part of his life. It was difficult. Imagine: I had to do workouts at 7 in the morning, because she had to go to school afterwards. And then she came tired because she had to study at night," said her former coach Piotr Sierzputowski.

The queen of Roland Garros is from Poland. Photo: AFP

A situation that belongs to the past, although, on the courts, thePolish continues to be studious, with a psychologist who helps her prepare the matches. "She has made me smarter. Thanks to her my confidence level is higher," he said in 2020.

"Mental strength is especially important. At this level, everyone is able to play well, but the best are the ones who are strongest at head level," he said.

Born in Warsaw, Swiatek came to tennis because she wanted to beat her older sister. A competitive spirit undoubtedly inherited from his father, Tomacz Swiatek, former rower of the Polish team that participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

Iga Swiatek, Chris Everty Karolina Muchova. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

That ambition led him to win the first professional tournament he played, in 2016 in Stockholm, in the secondary circuit, which he had accessed since the previous one. Two years later, after several months without tennis due to an ankle injury, he lifted the juniors trophy at Wimbledon in singles, and Roland Garros in doubles.

Now, with 14 titles in her palmares, four of them Grand Slam – the three Roland Garros and the US Open 2022 – Swiatek is confirmed as the queen of the circuit.

See also

Iga Swiatek is the queen of Roland Garros: she retained the title after beating Muchova in the final

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