Iga Swiatek has had a head-spinning few years. Hers is the sort of breathtaking tennis story that requires a few historical stats in order to fully appreciate it: After her breakout win at the French Open in 2020, the then unknown 19-year-old Polish player became the youngest women’s singles champion at Roland Garros since Monica Seles in 1992. In the three years since, she’s won three more Grand Slam titles (another two at the French, plus one at last year’s US Open) and become the number one-ranked female tennis player in the world—a first for any Pole. She is the youngest woman to win four career major titles since Serena Williams in 2002 and, this summer, joined Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis as the third player to have held the top spot for 70 consecutive weeks.
How could any person keep up such an astonishing streak? Swiatek wonders the very same thing.
“After winning so many tournaments as I did last year, everybody kind of expected me to stay on the same level all the time,” the 22-year-old tells Vogue, “which is not possible.”
This sanguine philosophy comes from its own kind of rigorous work: The tennis star is the only player to travel with a full-time sports psychologist and is consistently vocal about the importance of mental health. “I feel like everybody on the top level plays great tennis, but it’s those who can mentally cope with the most stressful moments who are the champions,” she says, explaining that those strategies have helped keep her grounded as she’s continued to rise. “Even though so much has changed in my life, I feel like I’ve stayed the same person.”
I met the tennis star last week in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park. She’s in town, of course, for the US Open, but today she’s promoting her new partnership with the Swiss sneaker company On—following in the literal
footsteps of another tennis great, Roger Federer, an investor in and spokesperson for the brand. Outside the Brooklyn courts—where she will play a few points with truly psyched locals—Swiatek tells Vogue about developing her own tennis shoe, her quirky pre-game rituals, and how it feels to return to the US Open as the defending champion.
