French Open: Iga Swiatek conquers the pressure of being unbeatable

As she lay on a yoga mat on the floor, still in her clothing from the match, she covered her face as much as she could with her hand and her hat, but she couldn’t control the tears from streaming down her face.”[I was] just overwhelmed with emotions,” Swiatek said later. “I honestly thought that I’m going to be out of the tournament. Even though I felt something on court, it kind of hit me after. I was happy that I won, but I still felt like I was really on the edge.”

Nine days and five matches later, Swiatek emerged victorious — yet again.But what Swiatek revealed after her match over Osaka made this victory different from all those before. While Saturday’s clash was relatively straightforward, as were all of the matches following the battle with Osaka, that uncontrolled emotion proved just how overwhelming the pressure of being the favorite and world No. 1 can be.

And yet, Swiatek found a way to handle it all and win.