World No 1 Iga Swiatek will be in action at the Paris Olympics unlike Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur.
World No 3 Sabalenka, World No 10 Jabeur and the 2021 US Open champion Raducanu are skipping the Olympics, complaining they will have too little time to adjust to the clay courts of Paris after playing on grass at Wimbledon. Wimbledon starts on July 1 and ends on July 14. The Olympics begin on July 26.
But Swiatek, who will represent Poland at the Olympics, sees no problems.
The 23-year-old is currently preparing for Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam where she hasn’t reached the semi-finals yet.
‘Potential on grass’
“I want to be successful wherever I play, you know? We do not underestimate any tournament, especially a Grand Slam. But I realise that I haven’t fully discovered my potential on grass yet. So I’ll concentrate on work. Generally, the preparations will not be any different due to the Olympics,” Swiatek told the Polish sports daily, Przeglad Sportowy.
Now focused on Wimbledon, she said: “We will start thinking about [the Olympics] only after Wimbledon, because in tennis it’s not like you have to be in shape for literally two weeks.
“We rather have to be in top form four or five times a year,” she added.
“Physically it is not always possible, but we will prepare as best we can and we will see. I think it would be a bigger challenge if there was grass first, clay in the middle, and grass again. Going back to the clay won’t be a problem for me.”
Swiatek recently concluded a rewarding season on clay, winning three consecutive titles at the Madrid Open, Rome Open and the French Open.
Resilient and good on clay, she said, “When I come back to it after a whole year, two days are enough and I feel great on clay. This year I already played the Billie Jean King Cup on hard, I went straight to clay in Stuttgart and I was able to play a very good tournament, so going to clay a second time will not be a problem.”
This will be Swiatek’s second Olympics.
She made her Olympic debut in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, where she came unstuck on the hard courts. Swiatek was knocked out by Spain’s Paula Badosa in the second round in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Sources: Tennis World, First Sportz