Iga Swiatek admits she kind of misses "being an underdog" because there was something special in playing against the best and working hard on getting to that level.
Although the Pole was just 19 when she won the French Open in 2020, she stll had a lot of work to do before becoming the player she is today.
During that particular period, Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka enjoyed the most success, while Serena Williams was still active and doing well. Also, there were 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova.
For Swiatek, it was especially tough against Barty, who routed the Pole in straight sets in their 2021 Madrid and 2022 Adelaide meetings. After losing to the Australian tennis legend in Adelaide, the Polish player admitted that she still had to figure out how to play against the former world No. 1.
But then, Barty shockingly retired from pro tennis, just two months after her 2022 Australian Open. After the Australian retired, Swiatek replaced her at the world No. 1 spot.
Since then, Swiatek has turned into one of the most dominant players in the game after winning five more Grand Slams and spending a total of 125 weeks at the top spot.
Swiatek: The underdog days were fun… I remember playing Barty and being inspired by her level
"Well, I never thought of myself as, like, upcoming star or something, you know. I just try to play my best as an underdog," the 24-year-old said.
"Honestly, it was pretty fun. I miss those days. I remember actually, like, playing against Ash. I could feel how good she is when she was No. 1 and so solid, and she really, like, inspired me actually. Being an underdog and, yeah, being this upcoming player with this freshness that you have, I think it's great. It's a moment where you improve your game the most."
In the United Cup quarterfinal, Poland takes on Australia.
In her singles match, Swiatek will play against 19-year-old rising star Maya Joint for the first time. At 19, Joint has two WTA titles and she is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 32 in the world.
Swiatek praised Joint by declaring her results "great" and also described the Australian as "really intelligent."
