Iga Swiatek names ‘really cool’ athlete she admires and reveals one thing she hopes to learn from the sporting superstar

Iga Swiatek has met many famous sporting personalities, but there is one superstar that stands out for her and that person is Alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn.
American Vonn is considered one of the greatest skiers of her generation as she has won gold at the Olympics and the World Championships.
The sporting great is also a massive tennis fan and she has made no secret of the fact that she is a big admirer of Swiatek as well as retired 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer.
And the feeling is mutual as world No 1 Swiatek was asked about the American following her recent win at the Madrid Open.
“I look up to her. I mean, honestly, I didn’t have a lot of athletes that I followed, but she was one of them when she skied. I also read her biography, and I found, like, huge inspiration from that,” the Pole said.
“So, yeah, we met a couple of times already, and we always talk for a longer time than I usually do (smiling). So I feel like for sure she’s a person to talk to if I need advice or I just want to talk to somebody who is cool, because she’s really cool.”
Swiatek also believes she could take a leaf out of the Vonn book when it comes to confidence.
She added: “I mean, we have been actually kind of talking about also, you know, mental game here. She gave me some tips, so maybe she want to be part of the team (smiling).
“But for sure you can feel like, I don’t know, her power even with the way she talks, you know, and her confidence, so for sure this is something that I might learn from her.”
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The four-time Grand Slam winner also discussed tennis’ crossover into pop culture and the impact that movies like Challengers will have on the sport.
Challengers – which stars Zendaya and Mike Faist – has received good reviews since its big release.
“I didn’t really notice that it’s something new, because it’s hard to, like, compare to the times where I wasn’t really on tour,” she said.
“I watched Wimbledon, this movie, when I was younger, so I kind of feel like there are some movies.”
The 22-year-old added: “It’s good that this sport is getting more popular. I think it’s fun and pretty cool, and honestly, maybe it’s sometimes harder to cheer for, like, one player, because if you’re kind of cheering for the team, you always have this 100% certainty that the team is going to, you know, be there even if one player is going to be injured or whatever.
“But I think tennis is nice, because it all depends on us. The pressure is big. Because it’s an individual sport, I think it makes it more fun and, like, more exciting, yeah. So watch tennis (smiling).”
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