© Getty Images Sport – Al Bello
Iga Swiatek, 22, reveals the worst emotion she has ever felt on the court is feeling ashamed for playing really bad in front of the crowd and TV viewers. Swiatek, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is considered the best player in the women’s game but she has also had some very difficult and painful moments on the court.
Earlier this year, Swiatek put a towel over her face and started crying after Jessica Pegula handed her a 6-2 6-2 defeat at the United Cup. Following her US Open second-round win over Daria Saville, Swiatek was asked about emotions in tennis and moments when a player breaks down.
“Oh, wow. Well, for sure it’s not easy, you know. I think, you know, the worst emotion you can feel in sport is shame when you play bad and you know that all these people are watching, you know. So this is something that I think, you know, this is the hardest thing.
I felt that, you know, couple of times in my career. It wasn’t easy,” Swiatek said.
Swiatek: I’m handling it better now
Swiatek, ranked at No 1, acknowledged dealing with negative emotions is harder than dealing with positive ones.
But Swiatek feels she has improved in that aspect and now does a better job compared to the start of her career. “For sure, you know, there are positive and negative emotions. Usually it’s harder to handle the negative ones. Yeah, it’s not easy.
It’s part of the job to kind of just accept that you’re going to be watched and kind of not care about that. But on the other hand, yeah, work on being able to kind of control your emotions and what you do on court. Yeah, I’m also working on that, and I think I made huge progress since a couple of years ago.
Yeah, I don’t remember last time I broke a racquet or, I don’t know, had, like, a burst of emotions, you know. Usually obviously there is something, because I am emotional and this is, like, a stressful job with a lot of tension and adrenaline. But still, yeah, I’m happy with how I’m managing that,” Swiatek said.
