Iga Swiatek reveals how she reacts to people trying to force her to change

Iga Swiatek is likely a great example of the difference between how the general public perceives a young male player and a young female player. Even with tennis, there can be issues such as commentator Jimmy Arias complaining last year about how low Swiatek wore her hat. Would this kind of comment even be made about a highly-ranked player on the ATP tour? That seems unlikely.

But for as long as Swiatek can remember, people have been trying to tell her how to play, what to wear, and how to behave. A person thinks she wears her hat too low? Who cares? Plus, as Arias never won a Grand Slam singles event and never won a tournament that was not played on clay, maybe if Swiatek wants to wear her hat a certain way, she should be left alone.

But Swiatek is used to all the derision, unfortunately. This not only comes from being extremely successful but also being an outspoken female athlete. Instead of winning and remaining quiet about her views, when she is asked her opinion about a subject, she will answer honestly and openly. Maybe not everyone will appreciate or agree with her, but at least you know where she stands.

Iga Swiatek has earned the right to find her own path

Recently, Swiatek partnered with LEGO as the top-ranked WTA player and was named as a Brand Ambassador. The Pole began playing with the building blocks at the suggestion of her sports psychologist during the COVID-19 pandemic. She recently told the Tennis Channel that "LEGO is the perfect way to not think about tennis and to use your time to not look at the screens and watch social media. It's more of a nice way to spend my time off in a relaxing way, and it keeps my mind busy from tennis."

But Swiatek did not only do her best to sell the game, she also expanded on just how she has had to react to people trying to fit her into neat little boxes as a person and player. She might only be 22 years old, but the tennis player also seems to have a great awareness of what she wants to do and how she wants to get there.

Swiatek said, "Ever since I've started my journey with sports, I've heard other people's expectations about how I should play, how I should look, how I should behave, what I should do. The higher I was in the sport, the more there were. However, I never liked to close myself with certain limits, I wanted to base my belief and experiences, on my intuition.

"To me, self-confidence means courage, among other things. Courage in trying new things and not giving up even after making a mistake, courage in being sensitive and expressing emotions."

She has earned this right as well. Not simply because she is an excellent player who has reached the pinnacle of her sport, but because of the poise and calm of how she has handled her success. She definitely has a better idea of how she needs to be than someone else giving an uninformed opinion of how she needs to act. Observers should just let Swiatek grow as a person and a player and we would all be better off for that.

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