Swiatek skips the second Taylor Swift concert to be rested and ready to fight for the first Wimbledon title

June 29, 2024

World number one Iga Swiatek showed on Saturday how committed she is to her quest for her first Wimbledon title when she said she had skipped the opportunity to see Taylor Swift in London this week in order to be sufficiently rested.

The Pole had seen the American singer in concert in Liverpool earlier this month and said it was so exciting that she realised her second visit could affect her preparations for Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.

“I was in Liverpool to see Taylor,” she said. “It was amazing. I actually thought about coming here (to London) for the second time. My team was like, OK… Basically after that concert, like three days after, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep and stuff. We decided it was better to focus on the tournament.”

“But it was a great experience. Last year I went to see Adele after my match. Wait, that was two years ago. In Hyde Park. I think if I lose early I’ll have more time to go there.”

Skip warm-up events

Swiatek has never made it past the quarterfinals in her four visits to Wimbledon, as the grass court poses far more problems for her than the clay court at Roland-Garros, where she won for the fourth time earlier this month.

The 23-year-old has worked hard on her game to make the small adjustments needed to succeed on this surface and hopes that a few weeks off from the tour between Paris and Wimbledon will pay off.”

“Day by day, I feel like I’m getting more rhythm and feeling the ball better,” she said. “I feel good. We certainly approached things a little differently this year, mainly because of the (number of) games I played in the first half of the season.”

“I could probably play one more tournament before Wimbledon, but I don’t know if I’ll be in good physical shape by the end of the year. You also have to decide for the future what is better. I think that was the wiser decision this year. Next year we will also see what my results will be before Roland Garros, because everything depends on the final decision. Now I’m here and I feel like I have to use these training days here to feel as much as possible on the court.”

Looking for more free points on serve

The biggest adjustment to her game, she said, is her serve, which she hopes will earn her more and more free points over the next two weeks.

“That was one of my goals too, to win sometimes by serving and building pressure,” she said. “I’ve managed to do that on other surfaces. Hopefully it will be similar on this surface. Here it’s even more important to make the first serve good. It seemed good in practice, so I’ll try it in matches where there’s a bit of stress and stuff. Hopefully these improvements I’ve made will pay off.”