As the new tennis season slowly commenced last year, the then 19-year-old Iga Swiatek was still in the process of testing the limits of her own strengths. The beginning of 2021 had marked her first tournaments since a transcendent French Open title in October 2020 and after admirably reaching the Australian Open fourth round, Swiatek lost in three tough sets to the former world No 1 Simona Halep.
When she spoke after that match, Swiatek marvelled at how much more space Halep had within her game to alter her tactics and solve problems on the court, something she thought she lacked. “I think that’s the difference between the champions and less experienced players,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “Because I didn’t feel like I had many options.”
