Iga Swiatek reflects on her fourth French Open title, discussing her journey and challenges

at the Covid-ravaged French Open in the autumn of 2020, one of her primary emotions was confusion. Her victory had been so unexpected, and the subsequent rush of attention so overwhelming, that it left her with many doubts. She had to prove to herself more than anyone else that her maiden win was not a fluke and that she could establish herself as a champion on a consistent basis.“It was an emotional win, because I felt a lot of stress yesterday and today in the morning,” said Swiatek. “I knew if I’m going to just focus on tennis I can fight through it and at the end it all went how I wanted. So I just felt really proud of myself.”

With another title, the world No 1 continues to stake her claim as a potential great and one of the most successful clay-court players of all time. The records are endless: at 23 years old she is the youngest woman to win a fourth French Open title, two years younger than the previous youngest, Justine Henin. Her record is 35-2 (95%) at Roland Garros and 84-10 (89%) on clay. Somehow, this still feels like the beginning of her story in Paris.