Wimbledon 2024: Stop telling Iga Swiatek how to play tennis

There are plenty of examples of people telling Iga Swiatek how to play, how to behave or even how to wear her hat.

It’s a game of opinion, they’ll argue, the only problem is that if everyone has an opinion, about pretty much everything, what currency do they use? Facts are sacred, of course, and Swiatek is an undisputed five-time grand slam champion, at 23.

Perhaps the nadir came when Jimmy Arias, once a Grand Slam semifinalist, became particularly peeved at Swiatek's peak. “I don't think she's been great for women's tennis,” he fumed. “She wears her hat so low you can't see her face or her eyes during a match. I want to see her personality.” Mansplaining with Jimmy or To speak his ariassoon available for download wherever you get your podcasts.

Since time immemorial, female players, especially confident and outspoken ones, have been at best dismissed, at worst shamed, for their appearance or what they wear. Swiatek, unsurprisingly, has a well-tuned filter for opinions from those outside her trusted inner circle, which only means she can be unfairly written off as aloof or arrogant.

She remains honest and open, though, even when it gets her into trouble. Not bad for a sport that is constantly looking for personalities. When asked about the recent decision by French Open organizers to rarely schedule women for primetime night matches, she replied: I don't care. No corny words, no dodging the question, just an honest point of view. Whether you agree or not, it was refreshing.

Four years after the world No. 1's first Slam title, critics still say she needs to change her playing style if she wants to become a true generational star, as many predict. Ever since I 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, she said. I never liked to confine myself within certain boundaries, I wanted to base myself on my beliefs and experiences, my intuition.

For me, self-confidence means courage, among other things. Courage to try new things and not give up, even after a mistake, courage to be sensitive and express emotions. There are no rules in a game.

Swiatek has won four of the last five tournaments at Roland Garros and will start as a heavy favorite for the Olympics there, but the top seed's Wimbledon record is still in development. In five appearances she has won 11 matches, her best return being a quarterfinal defeat last year.

Her second-round rival, Croatia’s Petra Martic, is no fan of the green stuff either. And Wimbledon’s sometimes flawed AI predictor gave her just a seven percent chance of winning. That may have been a little unfair, but Swiatek was always valuable in her 6-4 6-4 victory. With a shout of Come on, she saved three match points but needed just one to secure her place against Yulia Putintseva in the third round.

She has struggled around this stage in the past, but her consistency in reaching Grand Slams has been remarkable: she is the only woman to reach the last 32 or better in every major tournament this decade, and that number is still growing: 18 tournaments so far.

I'm happy that I'm playing in a solid way, Swiatek said. I felt like I was in control in most games when Petra was serving, but I couldn't really break it. I'm happy that I broke twice. That was necessary to win these sets. I'm happy to be in the next round.

I take everything step by step and every match counts for me. It is not like I go into the first rounds of grand slams knowing that I have to win or that I should take it for granted. I am ready to fight, even in the first rounds. I am happy that I am consistent, that is for sure.

Elena Rybakina, the women's champion two years ago, is another much-criticised player, famously struggling to smile after her 2022 success. Defeated finalist Ons Jabeur joked: I have to teach her how to celebrate.

However, it was reserved work for Rybakina, although the fourth seed allowed herself a glimpse of a smile after her 6-3 3-6 6-3 win over Germany's Laura Siegemund. Tough was her word of choice to describe it, indeed she said it four times in just 70 words.

It was exciting for a while, but this was finally decided by her devastating ball-striking from both groundstrokes. Her game is perfect for this surface.

It’s always tough to play against Laura and for some reason every time we play it’s super windy on the court, she said. It was tough and I’m really happy I won. Hopefully the next game will be tougher from my side. It gives me confidence but every game is different and every game is tough, even when I won in 2022 I had some tough games.