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Iga Swiatek's recent triumph at the 2023 French Open earned her plaudits from all over the tennis world. 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and more praised Swiatek after her fourth Grand Slam win.
The Pole overcame a tough challenge from Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova to beat her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and claim her third title in Paris in four years. Swiatek also won the US Open last year.
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal took to Instagram to congratulate Iga Swiatek and posted pictures of her holding the Suzanne Lenglen Cup during the winner's photoshoot. The 22-time Grand Slam winner also invited Swiatek to his academy in Mallorca, Spain, to attend the upcoming graduation ceremony.
"Congrats once again Iga and looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday here in Mallorca, Spain at the @rafanadalacademy for the graduation," Nadal wrote on Instagram.
Tennis fans were over the moon after seeing Nadal's invite for Swiatek and wondered what it all meant. Many were happy to see the two reunite, while others praised Swiatek for her friendly relations with male tennis legends.
Iga Swiatek also recently made Roger Federer-backed sports clothing brand 'On Running' her official clothing sponsor.
"On running girl and Nadal's special guest. She has everything," a fan wrote.
"Honestly who cares about the wta lmao id die for Rafa to notice me," another fan tweeted.
"Rafa and Iga reunion can't wait. I wonder if Casper will be there too, he trains a lot at Rafa academy. What if Iga stays in Mallorca for trainings, there is a tennis club with grass courts there, right?" a user wondered.
"What does this mean? Not Rafa posting 3 stories about Iga," a user said.
"Graduation? Is she holding a speech? Starting an internship?" a fan wrote on Twitter.
Here are some more fan reactions to Rafael's Nadal story about Iga Swiatek:
Iga Swiatek visited Rafael Nadal's academy last year
If she takes up Nadal on his invite, this won't be Swiatek's first visit to the Spaniard's academy in Mallorca. She visited the facility last year before her title-winning campaign at the 2022 Italian Open.
She praised the academy during a press interaction at the time, highlighting the different feeling she got while seeing all of Nadal's trophies in real life. She called her experience inspiring.
“For sure it was inspiring. You could see all the trophies, which is amazing. Seeing numbers on Wikipedia is one thing, but seeing all the trophies, how consistent he was sometimes in some tournaments, it's amazing," Swiatek said.
The 22-year-old has often spoken about her idolization of Rafael Nadal, saying she has admired him since her early days in tennis.
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