Sunday, March 9, 2025

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/D. Yastremska

6-0, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Iga, congrats on the win today. Give us your thoughts on the match.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure I'm happy with how it went. I was pretty confident from the beginning. I just kept doing my thing, and I'm happy that I could close it in such a confident way.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. A lot of the players are talking about the higher bounces here in the desert. How do those help you with your spin game?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure, you know, I feel like it makes it more visible, you know, the topspin that I play. But I still have to play it. So I think, you know, my game, for sure, fits the surface here, yeah. But it's not like it's going to do all the job, you know.

Q. Speaking of the surface, maybe you might talk about this already, but this year, since this year, surface get renewed. How did you feel about this surface so far?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I think it's renewed every year. But this year apparently it's a different company that is doing it. I feel like it's fine. Still a slow, bouncy court. So it's pretty much the same, but maybe it's a bit different.

I don't know. It's hard for me to say. I said from the beginning that we are coming back after a whole year playing on different surface anyway. So it's hard to really compare the same way as I would after playing one week on one and the other one on the other surface.

Yeah, sure, there is a little bit difference between the center court and the practice courts, but this is what we have on most of the tournaments. I don't really know why, but at Indian Wells I remember it was a bit more consistent the surface on the practice courts and the center court. But doesn't matter.

Q. Can I ask you about your website.

IGA SWIATEK: Uh-huh, sure.

Q. The splash page, "You did not wake up to be ordinary." There's a lot of things you could say on your front page to make an impression but you chose that. Can you talk about what that means to you.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, that was a quote that really, I don't know, just inspired me. I'm not the kind of person that reads quotes and is, oh, it hit me so hard. But this one actually kind of did. It has been with me from the beginning, like, from 2018 or 2019.

I don't know. I just kind of kept this quote close. It's on the doorstep of the first Porsche that I won in Stuttgart, as well. It's just... I really like it.

Q. Just a follow-up from the last press you did, what Lego set are you doing right now, and how did the cooking go? Did the recipe work out?

IGA SWIATEK: I haven't started the Legos yet. It's waiting for me, but I've been focused on the cooking this week. The cooking has been going great. I did, like, a baked oatmeal, which looks better on picture than it tastes, you know. I don't know.

But the Legos are still waiting. I don't remember the exact name of the set, so I'll post it, for sure.

The oatmeal was fine. I just needed to add a lot of yogurt. I know my friends tell me that I did it wrong, that I should have blended the oats before but I didn't. I don't know. I'll have to try again probably.

Q. You won 10 straight games to start the match. You have won 31 6-0 sets in these WTA 1000s. What's it feel like to be in it when this is happening, the momentum, the adrenaline?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure, you know, I know that I'm in a good place and I'm going the right way.

So I feel pretty pumped up. But on the other hand, you know, calm, because I don't feel that I'm threatened. But I need to go and be aware in the second set that it can all change. Like, second set is a different story. You know, we start from zero kind of again, so the other player can also get their level up.

So I always try to be aware of that and just be ready to compete.

Q. I too would like to ask a follow-up question. The other day you talked about going to the NBA game. My question is: What drew you to the Bay area? Was that your first time there? What other sights did you see? What did you feel about the Bay area?

IGA SWIATEK: I think it was beautiful. Again, like, seeing the bridge, for example, I didn't know it's gonna be so big of a thing. You know, I knew it's famous and I knew everybody is talking about it, but I really didn't know why, but then I saw it live and I understood. You know, the bridge was amazing.

I also stayed next to Fisherman's Wharf so I ate a lot of good seafood. I went to these places where all the musicians stayed, like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix. Like, I'm happy that I wasn't there alone.

Q. Was that Haight-Ashbury?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah. Last year I had a chance to do the same, a bit in Malibu, just go a few days before the tournament and see a bit of Malibu. This year was San Francisco. Next year I'm going to choose also another place because it's a great way to reset. I know that at Indian Wells I'm always going to have this one week of solid work so I want to be charged for that.

Also, I took this time to kind of reflect on the previous weeks, which I don't have time for at home. It was kind of like work vacation a bit. I didn't do work physically, but I was able to, I don't know, kind of reset and think more about the process.

Q. Everybody tends to think that your success here is due strictly to the surface, the way it bounces, the slowness of it. But is it more than that for you that helps you thrive here?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, you know, it's never only about the surface. Like, I could also play to the fence and not win here on the slower surface (smiling). So I guess it's always -- honestly, you can say that about any win at any surface that any player has. It doesn't really make sense.

Q. So what is it that connects maybe? You seem to be in a really good place here like very similar to the place you're in in Paris.

IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, well, I don't know. I just for sure the surface helps, but it's not the only thing. You still need to do the job. I've always been pretty focused here and also accepting the mistakes that are gonna happen this dry air, you know.

I always had time before to do solid work. It wasn't like I was rushed anywhere. Sometimes in these one-week tournaments, there is no time to practice, for example. But here I always have that. I know I just feel comfortable and I found my rhythm also off the court to recover well.

I guess it's a mix just being happy here and having a good life.

Q. Another following up, cooking, regarding the question.

IGA SWIATEK: I'm not that good (smiling).

Q. I was wondering if you are fortunate enough to find the good tuna in the middle of the desert. And cooking is you are always interested in or something like a new hobby for you?

IGA SWIATEK: I wouldn't say, it's not on a level yet to be a hobby. I'm just trying things out because I have a good kitchen here. Usually I'm too lazy to do that or I don't have time. It's just because I'm a bit bored.

No, I don't plan to follow it because I still feel like I'm bad at cooking. So I'll probably stick to my oatmeals and just being able to make a breakfast and that's it, because that's the only thing I can do.

The tuna, I didn't cook it, but it was at the end pretty great and I found a good one. Thanks.

Q. Can you talk about what it's like being in the zone here? Have you developed a gauge of what your best tennis looks like to you?

IGA SWIATEK: I mean, I know how it feels like. I don't know how it looks like, because I'm not even watching usually these matches where I played perfectly, because there is not much to change or analyze.

I know how it feels like, but honestly, many players have said that before. You probably feel that, I don't know, three times a year maybe. You're lucky if it's more. Because it's, you know, constant work and it doesn't happen by itself, you know.