World No. 1 Iga Świątek closes Wimbledon diary on Olympics question

World number 1 Iga Świątek was forced to correct a journalist during a press conference before Wimbledon.

Świątek is the most dominant player in the WTA, having topped the rankings for all but eight weeks since taking over following Ash Barty’s retirement in 2022.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Iga Świątek corrects a Wimbledon journalist.

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She has just completed her fourth French Open title and heads to the All England Club as the title favorite.

The 23-year-old will also be one of the favourites to win gold when she represents Poland at the Olympic Games at the end of the month.

However, despite all her achievements and previous statements about wanting to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, it looks like the journalist did not do proper research.

Asking the first question of the press conference, the reporter asked: “You are not playing in the Olympics this time, but do you hope to play in the future?”

A surprised Świątek took a moment to respond: “I’m not playing in the Olympics? I definitely am,” before suggesting the reporter had “the wrong player.”

Świątek was praised for the class with which she handled the situation, while the journalist was criticized for not doing any research.

Daria Abramowicz, a psychologist who works with Świątek, sarcastically tweeted: “Interesting? Who asked that brilliant question?”

“I don’t know how Iga managed to stop herself – at least – from rolling her eyes when this was the FIRST question at her pre-tournament press conference,” said one fan.

“For god’s sake she’s interviewing the number 1 female tennis player in the world, man, do your research!” added another.

“A guy asks player number 1 and he’s so unprepared? He can’t be real,” another said.

It is likely that the reporter was confused with other top ten stars Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, who are not playing in the Olympics.

Świątek heads to Wimbledon prepared to advance beyond the quarterfinals for the first time in her career.

She will have to quickly adapt to playing on a surface she doesn’t like after deciding to skip the warm-up competition to stay fresh for her third Grand Slam this year.

The fate of several favorite players seems to have justified her decision.

Defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was injured after slipping during her match at last week’s Berlin Open, while Australian Open winner and world number three Sabalenka withdrew from the same tournament with a shoulder problem.

Jabeur’s campaign in Germany was cut short due to illness, and last year’s Wimbledon runner-up was joined in the medical room by 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, leaving Coco Gauff as the only top competitor to enjoy an incident-free streak.

“I had ideas like doing a preparation period on grass to learn how to play there,” said Świątek shortly after her triumph at Roland Garros.

“Last year’s result was quite good. I feel like every year I adapt more easily to the grass.

“The biggest improvement I can make on grass now is using my better serves, but I don’t expect much from them either.

“The balls are different. Tennis in general is different on grass. I’ll just see and work hard to play better there.”

Sabalenka had reached at least the semifinals of six Grand Slam tournaments since 2022 before the ailing Belarusian was eliminated in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

If she is fully functional, she will pose a huge threat to Świątek.

One of the few WTA tournament players who can match Sabalenko is Rybakina, and the Moscow-born Kazakh will welcome a return to the scene of her greatest triumph as she seeks a second Grand Slam title.

Jabeur will continue to aim to become the first Arab and African woman to win a maiden major title, but admitted in Paris that US Open champion Gauff seems most likely to join Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina in the women’s “big four”.

Gauff, who failed to make it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, is another player hoping to make a breakthrough in the major tournament played July 1-14.

Her warm-up was the semi-final in Berlin, where she lost to her compatriot and future champion, Jessica Pegula.

Local favourite and 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu has been handed a wildcard, while British hopes also rest on the shoulders of Katie Boulter – partner of Australian favourite Alex de Minaur – who defended her title in Nottingham earlier this month.

– With AAP

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