Iga Swiatek’s mental coach Daria Abramowicz has played a big role in her success. The duo’s partnership goes back to the youngster’s early days on Tour and it would be fair to say that they know each other pretty well.
After her charge lifted her fourth French Open title on Saturday, Abramowicz spoke in an interview with Tennis Majors about spotting Swiatek's potential early.
Recalling her first meeting with Swiatek, her coach said she could see the “fire” in her. She said the youngster would return from school, eat in a rush only to get to the tennis court on time. Watching her go into “locked in” mode on court convinced Abramowicz of the Polish star’s potential.
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“Oh the first minute I met her! I saw the fire. She was all over the place, coming back from school, eating in a rush, trying to do everything at the same time and I was like, ‘Oh my god what’s going on?’ And then she went on court, locked in, and I was like, ‘now we’re talking.'”
Addressing the challenges of coaching someone like Swiatek, Abramowicz said the real task is to help the youngster achieve her true potential. She added that there was still plenty of room for Swiatek to improve both in terms of tennis and as an athlete in general and that is what, in her opinion, makes her an exciting prospect.
“The challenging thing was to meet her potential. Such a big potential but with not a lot of resources so there was an amount of work to be done. It’s still fascinating because she’s still not a complete tennis player, not a complete athlete, and not a fully mature human being because she’s just 23 as well. It’s fascinating to keep working with Iga Swiatek."
"We’ll use this experience" - Daria Abramowicz on Iga Swiatek's whirlwind 2024 clay season
Iga Swiatek has captured the biggest titles of the clay swing this year — the Madrid Open, the Italian Open and the French Open — but Daria Abramowicz has made it a point to not let the massive success overwhelm her.
Asked by Tennis Majors if the fifth Grand Slam title will propel Swiatek into a different phase of her career, Abramowicz said she does not view career milestones with that lens. Instead, she said, she and the player will use the experience to help Swiatek grow.
“I don’t look at it that way, I really like to compartmentalize in a way in terms of performance. Obviously we’ll use this experience of also winning Madrid and Rome before Roland-Garros.”
Besides her most recent Grand Slam triumph, Swiatek has also lifted the trophies at the 2020, 2022 and 2023 French Open as well as the 2022 US Open.
