Chris Evert: "When Iga Swiatek speaks, people will listen"

Chris Evert lavished praise on Iga Swiatek in a recent interview, calling her a "soft-spoken" leader on the WTA Tour.

Speaking to TIME magazine, the 18-time Grand Slam champion pointed to how the World No. 1 doesn't "yell" at people from the top of a mountain but still makes them listen to her when she speaks.

“She’s a leader that doesn’t yell at the top of a mountain,” Evert said. “She’s more soft-spoken. Yet when Iga speaks, people will listen.”

Former WTA player and 21-time doubles Grand Slam champion Pam Shriver also added to the praise, calling Swiatek an "old-school" World No. 1. The American further added that the three-time Grand Slam champion has the best forehand, movement and mental toughness on tour, at least over the last year or so.

“You can’t find anyone who moves better, who has a better forehand, and who’s been mentally tougher in the last 14 months than Iga,” Shriver said. “She’s a little bit of a throwback, old-school No. 1 player.”

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"Roland Garros is basically the place where I chose that I want to be a tennis player" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek French Open Winner Photocall

During the same interview, Iga Swiatek herself revealed that the place where she chose to be a tennis player was Roland Garros -- back in 2016, when she made a trip to the tournament as a junior player. Seeing so many tennis superstars on the ground, the two-time winner was struck by how she could be doing the same one day, kickstarting her journey into the sport.

“[Roland Garros] is basically the place where I chose that I want to be a tennis player,” Swiatek said. “I saw all these courts and tennis superstars just passing by. It just struck me that, ‘Wow, maybe I have a chance to be there in the future and to live this life.’"

The 21-year-old is currently in action at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she will open her campaign against Julia Grabher in the second round. The Pole has a strong chance of adding to her points tally at the WTA 1000 event, having skipped last year's edition.

Having already won two titles this year (the Qatar Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix), Swiatek has two more titles to defend in what remains of the clay swing -- the Italian Open and the French Open. The three-time Grand Slam champion defeated Ons Jabeur in the final of the former and Coco Gauff in the latter in 2022.