Iga Swiatek’s hopes of defending her US Open title were dashed last year when she was eliminated in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, but she now says she feels free of the pressure that contributed to that disappointment.
Swiatek, the winner of the 2022 tournament, suffered a surprise defeat to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko last year and, as a result, lost her first place in the world rankings to the hotly contested Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
But the irrepressible player from Poland pulled herself together, won the WTA Finals at the end of the season and regained the top position that she has held ever since.
“Last year I felt like I had a lot of things to defend, like the world ranking, all my points and also the title itself,” Swiatek told reporters in New York on Friday. “I felt like I had a lot of baggage on my shoulders. This year it’s a little different. This year I’m just trying to focus on what I need to do tennis-wise to play the best game I can.”
“My expectations are not as high as last year. I will try to focus on achieving everything step by step.”
Despite winning five titles already this year, including her fourth at the French Open, the 23-year-old admitted she has just come through a difficult period that includes a disappointing bronze medal at the Paris Games and a clear loss to Sabalenka on Sunday in Cincinnati.
“It’s been a really intense season and it’s not been easy coming off the Olympics,” she said. “I feel best when I’m just focusing on training and effort on the court and really focusing on improving my game and not on the results. I’m just going to try to keep that mindset and attitude.”
Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion and the tournament’s top seed, will begin her US Open campaign on Tuesday against a qualifier, with a possible quarterfinal match against American world number six Jessica Pegula on the way there.
