Iga Swiatek named Polish Sports Personality of the Year, first tennis player since 1937 to win the award

Iga Swiatek has been named the Polish Sports Personality of the Year after her outstanding 2022 season on the WTA tour.

The 21-year-old became the first tennis player since Jadwiga Jędrzejowska in 1937 and the second woman since 2016 to receive the honor from her nation. She defeated former three-time winner and Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski, Adrian Meronk, Hubert Hurkacz, and basketball player Mateusz Ponitka.

Swiatek had a remarkable 2022 season, winning two Grand Slams at Roland Garros and the US Open in addition to six other titles, and ended the season with a 67-9 win/loss record and the No. 1 player on the tour by some distance.

Last month, she was named the European Sportsperson of the Year by the Polish Press Agency (PAP) polls. She defeated the likes of F1 world champion Max Verstappen and pole vaulter Armand Duplantis to take home the honor.

Iga Swiatek reveals how she manages her career post 2022 sucess

Iga Swiatek plays a backhand in her semi-final match against Jessica Pegula

After her exhausting 2022 schedule, Iga Swiatek started her 2023 season competing at the United Cup representing Team Poland. She won all five of her matches at the event before losing to Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.

In her post-match press conference after her defeat to Pegula, Iga Swiatek pointed out that she was still learning how to rest correctly in between tournaments and doing her best to manage her career both on and off the court.

"I would say for sure I learned how to rest properly, but when I came back home after vacation, which was great, by the way, I had like too much stuff to do off the court, which is always the issue when I come back to Warsaw, and I'm working on that," said Swiatek.

"But sometimes, you know, you push all these things during the season to do them after, and then when preseason comes and all this stuff, you know, sometimes is a little bit too much. I'm doing my best to plan everything properly and also take care of like the business side of my career. But, yeah, I'm still learning how to do that properly," she added.

When asked if she had recharged her batteries ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Pole insisted that she would be fresh heading into the Australian Open.

"I would say I recharged my batteries, but pre-season is so intense that when you're playing the first tournament of the season, you feel a little bit of fatigue. So I feel like I'm going to be more fresh before the Australian Open actually than before this tournament," she said.