- World No. 1 tennis player Iga Swiatek bagged an award as Poland’s Sports Personality of the Year
- She became the first tennis player to win the accolade in nearly a century
- She is hoping to win a third Grand Slam in the Australian Open
World No. 1 tennis player Iga Swiatek bagged Poland’s Sports Personality of the Year award.
She became the first tennis player to win the accolade in nearly a century with this prestigious award she received on Saturday.
Others who made it to the list include star soccer player Robert Lewandowski and golfer Adrian Meronk, who became the first Polish player to win a championship on the European Tour last year.
Fellow tennis player Hubert Hurkacz, and basketball player Mateusz Ponitka were also on the list.
Swiatek joins Jadwiga Jedrzejowska, who received the prize in 1936 and 1937, as the only other tennis player to have received it in the award’s history.
Iga Swiatek. Photo by Sportskeeda
The prize was first given out in 1926, but World War II prevented its presentation from 1939 to 1947. In addition, Swiatek is only the second woman to get the honour since 2014, when cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk received the final of her five consecutive victories.
Swiatek’s accomplishments from the previous year are impressive. She won six titles, two Grand Slams at Roland Garros and the US Open, and a tour-best 67-9 win-loss record.
The longest winning run on the WTA this century was 37 wins in a row from February to June. In addition, she received awards from the Polish Press Agency for WTA Player of the Year, ITF World Champion, and European Sportsperson of the Year.
Swiatek thanked everyone who had helped her over the previous 12 months in a social media post because she couldn’t make it to attend the awards ceremony in person.
She is optimistic about winning her fourth career major title at the 2023 Australian Open, which begins on Jan 16.
Meanwhile, a barrage of emotions overwhelmed Swiatek after losing to Jessica Pegula in the United Cup semifinal matchup in straight sets.
Pegula, who is rated third in the world, won decisively 6-2 6-2 in Sydney in just 71 minutes. The French and US Open champion from Poland had defeated Pegula in their previous four encounters, but the tables turned in Sydney.
Speaking of her loss, she said that it’s never easy when you lose, adding that it was a normal reaction for her to cry after losing to Pegula.
Iga Swiatek. Photo by Eurosport
“It’s always hard when you lose, especially when you’re playing for the team and your country. So I was just sad. But, you know, it’s not the first time I cried after a lost match,” BBC reports.
She hailed Pegula for playing diligently, adding that it was tough for her to beat her because there were no loopholes in the game. She also said that this made her feel helpless, and she is not used to such a feeling.
“I just knew that I felt kind of helpless today because physically and mentally I wasn’t able to kind of show up even, and problem-solve.”
Despite the loss, the 21-year-old is in sharp focus as thousands of fans rally behind her in her effort to take home her third Grand career Grand Slam.
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