{"id":29122,"date":"2025-02-27T03:58:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T03:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29122"},"modified":"2025-02-27T03:58:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T03:58:41","slug":"iga-swiatek-speaks-about-why-rafa-is-her-role-model-%f0%9f%90%90%f0%9f%8e%be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=29122","title":{"rendered":"Iga Swiatek speaks about why Rafa is her role model \ud83d\udc10\ud83c\udfbe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iga Swiatek launched an interactive website to connect with her fans by offering insights into her off-court interests.<\/p>\n

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Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek (Image via X)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Iga Swiatek<\/strong>\u00a0idolizes\u00a0Rafael Nadal<\/strong>, and it\u2019s no secret. The Pole who suffered a quarterfinal exit at the Dubai Open will soon be in action at the Indian Wells.<\/p>\n

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Ahead of her next tournament on North American soil, Swiatek launched her new website. The website promises to answer the very simple questions she is often asked by journalists, such as which songs she listens to before tournaments, her favorite books, and the ones she reads every year.<\/p>\n

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And her biggest sports inspiration, unsurprisingly, is the 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal. Apart from him being one of the greatest athletes of all time, what impressed Swiatek the most was the kind of person the\u00a0King of Clay<\/em>\u00a0is.<\/p>\n

Mastery in sports is one thing, but what impresses me the most is what values he lives by and what kind of person he is despite his incredible success. This is definitely the path I would like to follow.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Like Nadal, Swiatek too has become a reckoning force on clay, for she has already added four (and three consecutive) French Open titles to her trophy cabinet. The 38-year-old, after years of struggles due to injury problems, bade his farewell to tennis in last year\u2019s Davis Cup Finals.<\/p>\n

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Aryna Sabalenka reacts to Iga Swiatek\u2019s coaching offer<\/h2>\n

During her campaign in Dubai,\u00a0Iga Swiatek<\/a>, among several other WTA players, was asked about which rivals they would choose as their coach. The questions were asked following\u00a0Andy Murray<\/strong>\u2018s addition to\u00a0Novak Djokovic<\/strong>\u2018s entourage. Murray joined the Serb\u2019s team about four months after retirement from tennis.<\/p>\n

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Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek (Image via WTA\/X)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So when Swiatek was asked who she wanted to add to her team, her answer was\u00a0Andrea Petkovic<\/strong>. The 23-year-old then picked World No.1\u00a0Aryna Sabalenka<\/strong>\u00a0because she is three years youngster than the Belarusian, so the latter is likely to retire before Swiatek. Sabalenka, however, joked that she\u2019s not sure about the coaching offer.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not sure about that. Probably because of my crazy experience, I could help with the mental part of the game. But once again, I\u2019m not sure about that.<\/em><\/p>\n

Aryna Sabalenka wrote on Instagram story<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n