Foreign Language Centre
Inspiring
Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek is a tennis player, only 21 years old (born in 2001), and already the “world’s first racket”. – leader of the WTA (the Women’s Tennis Association) singles ranking. She has won eight WTA singles tournaments and three Grand Slam tournaments: French Open 2020 and 2022 and US Open 2022.
She is second to none on the tennis court, dominating and impressing with her perfect game, speed and intuition. But she also captivates millions of spectators with her naturalness, sense of humour, pleasant smile and openness. She does not hide her emotions and is not ashamed to talk about them. In a programme for the BBC, she admitted that “emotions are part of being human”. Tears flow both when she loses on the court (which is not often) and when watching a film or reading a novel.
Off the court, she is also successful on social media: the number of followers on Iga Swiątek’s official Instagram account has already exceeded one million. This is not surprising, as Iga has a great rapport with her fans, often posting posts and photos of herself, willingly and honestly answering her fans’ questions and reviewing the books she has read.
As she says herself, she doesn’t have much time for entertainment. She trains almost every day for several hours and works with a sports psychologist. She takes great pleasure in playing with her house cat, Grappa. She has pretty typical interests: listening to music, reading books and watching TV series. One of her favourites is the TV series Friends, and quite recently, after watching a video where the series’ Monica was performing moderately well on the court, she offered her professional support! Courteney Cox, who plays the role, immediately accepted this help. We’ll soon find out if there will be a sequel 😊
She also admits that she loves sweets, especially tiramisu. “When it comes to diet, sometimes I need to be watched because when I’m tired, I like to reach for more sweets or fatty foods.” So: an ordinary girl, but an extraordinary talent!