Bethanie Mattek-Sands reveals how her partnership with Iga Swiatek was formed, says the young Pole is "really open with people"

Bethanie Mattek-Sands recently spoke about a myriad of topics, including the formation of her unexpected doubles partnership with Iga Swiatek and the young Pole's personality traits.

Speaking to Tennis.com, Mattek-Sands described how she first approached the 2020 Roland Garros champion on the eve of the Miami Masters earlier this year. The American, a former World No. 1 in doubles, revealed that she and Swiatek entered the women's doubles event in Miami at the eleventh hour.

“I went through about four different people, and I was going down the rankings when I saw Iga’s name. She texted me back, ‘I think we’d have to sign in in about 20 minutes, right?'" Bethanie Mattek-Sands said.

"Next time, I said, I’ll give you at least a couple more days to think it over with the team, but right now you only have 20 minutes to decide!" Mattek-Sands added.

Iga Swiatek poses with the 2020 French Open Women's Singles title

The partnership has proven to be a success. The pair reached the semifinals in Miami and went one better in Paris, where they advanced to the final before losing to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

Mattek-Sands spoke about the association in glowing terms, saying the two hit it off from the get-go.

“It just kind of worked. We hit it off and made the semifinals in Miami. It was fun from the start and I feel like that’s kind of a lot of how my partnerships have happened,” Mattek-Sands said.

"Iga Swiatek is the kind of person that can have great contact with anybody" - Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Bethanie Mattek-Sands also weighed in on the contrasting personalities she and Iga Swiatek possess. The American is upbeat and goofy, while Swiatek is much more reserved.

Mattek-Sands believes that as an extrovert, there is a lot she can learn from the young Pole.

“It's actually good when extrovert meet an introvert, because it helps us. She’s the kind of person that can actually have great contact and relationship with anybody, I guess, because she's really open with people. It's something that I have to learn from her,” Mattek-Sands said.