Iga Swiatek at 24 Breaks Down: This Was The One Problem My Mental Strength Couldn’t Solve Due To…
Iga Swiatek battled quite a unique challenge this year as the Polish tennis star reveals it was the first season which she entered “feeling old.”
Swiatek, who was just 19 years old when she became a Grand Slam champion at the 2020 French Open (which took place in late September and early October that year due to the pandemic), celebrated her 24th birthday on May 31st. But unlike in previous years, the Pole didn’t gift herself with a French Open title after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal at Roland Garros a few days later.
If you can recall, the opening six months of the 2025 season were pretty rough for Swiatek, who was constantly making the latter stages of tournaments but still failing to lift a title. But then, her 13-month title drought came to an end in the least expected way – but at the same time the best way possible – after she collected her maiden Wimbledon title.
Swiatek: It was the first year when I didn’t feel like I’m still young
“I had some challenges this year that really were kind of new and I needed to adjust to them a little bit more. Also, I think it was the first year when I didn’t feel like I’m still young. That was also a different feeling. Overall, winning Wimbledon made this season already super special and amazing. I would just put it over anything else,” the 24-year-old told The National.
Swiatek also noted that it took some time before she adjusted to new voice in her team – Wim Fissette – who replaced Tomasz Wiktorowski in late 2024.
“With Wim, I think the start of our relationship was pretty tricky because he joined my team after my three perfect seasons. So there was kind of no space to go up. Actually, winning Wimbledon was the only thing that I wasn’t able to do before,” the world No. 2 added.
Since winning Wimbledon, Swiatek has added two more titles to her collection as she made it all the way in Cincinnati and Seoul.
Swiatek is now bidding to win her second WTA Finals title. The Polish tennis star dismantled Madison Keys 6-1 6-2 in her opening match in Riyadh.
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Photos: Emma Raducanu enjoys fall, grabs beer and visits vineyard
Emma Raducanu is enjoying some quality time off the court while recovering from the physical setbacks that hampered her late in the season as the British tennis star seemingly visited a vineyard and also grabbed a beer while visiting one particular place.
If you can recall, Raducanu had big plans for the Asian swing and one of her favorite places to play tennis. But it didn’t start well for the Briton after she blew match points in back-to-back losses to Barbora Krejcikova (Seoul) and Jessica Pegula (Beijing). Shortly after picking up those painful defeats, the world 22-year-old started to struggle with an illness but also a back problem – which led to her retiring in Wuhan and losing in the Ningbo first round.
Raducanu, who officially concluded her 2025 season two weeks ago, has since returned to Great Britain. And seemingly, she visited Kent, a county in Southeastern England.
Raducanu picked the tournament to start her 2026 season
A couple of days ago, it was announced that Great Britain would be represented by Raducanu and Jack Draper at the 2026 United Cup edition, scheduled to take place between January 02-11. For the 2021 US Open champion, it will mark her maiden appearance at the team event that has been taking place in Australia for the last few years.
“I’m honored to be able to make my United Cup debut in January. Being able to play for Team GB with my team-mates is a unique opportunity and week to enjoy. It’s great to be able to experience a new format on the tour, represent my country and spend a couple extra weeks in Australia,” Raducanu said.
The United Cup brings points so 29th-ranked Raducanu will have extra motivation since she has made it clear that she wants to be a seed at the Australian Open.
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