Swiatek is bi at Roland Garros and sets record for consecutive wins in the century

Iga Swiatek, 21, world number one, is the champion of Roland Garros. The Polish beat the American Coco Gauff, 18, 23rd in the ranking, by 2 sets to 0, partial 6/1 and 6/3, in a match that lasted one hour and eight minutes.

It is Swiatek’s second French Open title. In 2020, at 19, she had become the youngest winner on French clay since the triumph of Spaniard Rafael Nadal, at the same age, in 2005 – at the time, she became the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam since the triumph. of Russian Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, in 2004, at 17.

Raised to first place on the WTA (professional tennis association) list in April this year – when Australian Ashleigh Barty, then leader, abruptly announced her retirement, at 25 –, the Pole is the first person from her country in history to occupy the top in the mod. And it’s been proving that she deserves the post.

After an erratic 2021, in which he won only two titles, Swiatek has an exceptional campaign in 2022: he won the last six tournaments he played in (Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Roma and now Roland Garros) and reached, in the final, in Paris, 35 victories in a row.

It is the longest streak of the century without defeats on the women’s circuit. The mark obtained by the American Serena Williams, in 2013, with 34 unbeaten matches, was left behind.

To achieve this success, the young tennis player has been doing an intense job of psychological preparation.

At last year’s WTA Finals, which brought together the best of the season in Gualajara, Mexico, Swiatek cried on court during the loss to Greek Maria Sakkari. She was the youngest in the championship, at 20 years old, and since then she has taken greater care of her mental health.

Her psychologist is no longer waiting for her in her office in Warsaw. The professional accompanies the athlete on trips and adopts measures such as preventing her from reading books whose ending could leave her shaken before important games.

Iga is a bookworm. In a text written on the BBC, she said that she received, on her 20th birthday, 20 books from her technical team. She finished reading “Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie 40 minutes before a duel with American Alison Riske.

“Reading is one of my great passions off the court. It’s a big factor in keeping me relaxed and focused on winning games and playing good tennis,” he wrote.