The world No. 1 says she’s looking forward to “how much I can do, how many opportunities I have to become a better player and human.”
Iga Swiatek’s Olympic effort didn’t end how most expected it to, but the world No. 1 says something positive will come from it all the same.
Swiatek penned an emotional debrief in the aftermath of her Paris campaign, where she rebounded from a stunning upset at the hands of eventual gold medalist Zheng Qinwen to capture a bronze medal, on her social media channels this week in which the 23-year-old promised that personal growth will come from her latest “chapter”—one that was full of a wide range of emotions.
“After a couple of days I feel ready to sum up this chapter. Joy, happiness, sadness, disappointment, satisfaction, hunger for more, pride and so many other emotions, thoughts … I’m still figuring it out and I feel how valuable this experience was to me,” Swiatek wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
“Maybe in the future I will assess these two weeks with a bigger picture and a better perspective, but I already see a lot.”
After she dubbed the possibility of an Olympic medal “a dream come true,” Swiatek’s second visit to Paris in 2024 came with headlines that could’ve made it a nightmare.
Danielle Collins accused an incredulous Swiatek of insincerity and “fakeness” in the aftermath of a hard-fought quarterfinal match when American retired injured in the third set, and after letting a 4-0 second-set lead slip in her 6-2, 7-5 loss to Zheng, she broke down in tears (again, if you’ll recall how her Tokyo Olympic campaign ended) when speaking to media in the mixed zone.
But time heals all wounds, as the saying goes. Also in her post, the Pole said she was “grateful” to share the podium with Zheng and silver medalist Donna Vekic, and also lauded the place of pride tennis occupied at the Games: from the flagbearers and legendary special guests who starred at the opening ceremony, to the level of competition shown.
“When I’m thinking about the Olympics and tennis, I’m so proud, how our sport was pictured in Paris,” she continued. “So many amazing matches, inspirational stories, amazing pictures from the opening ceremony where tennis players had a special place.
“We should appreciate that tennis plays such an important role in the world of sports. I’m happy that my story is a part of it.”
