Iga Swiatek answers if she is ‘Wimbledon underdog’ and why grass is trickiest surface

Iga Swiatek says she does not want to put enormous pressure and expectations on herself to do extremely well at Wimbledon but also admits that she is aware that she is never considered “an underdog.”

Over the last two years, Swiatek has achieved massive success and has had many wins on the Grand Slam and WTA 1000 level but one thing she still hasn’t accomplished yet is landing a grass title.

After winning her fifth Grand Slam title at this past French Open and improving to 22 career titles, the 23-year-old Pole will have just one shot at winning her first grass title this summer after opting to skip Berlin two weeks ago because she needed rest.

Just like was the case last year, Swiatek is considered a Wimbledon favorite but the general belief is that the tournament is wide open and that some proven grass-court players like Elena Rybakina or Aryna Sabalenka have more chances at winning it all at The Championships.

And in her Wimbledon pre-tournament press conference, the Polish world No. 1 honestly acknowledged that Wimbledon is indeed a tournament where she is probably not as confident in her chances as she is in other major tournaments.

“It’s hard for me to be considered as an underdog anywhere now, but I really need to focus on just the process of being a better player here and learning how to play the best kind of tennis and not really on the rankings or the expectations that come with my ranking,” Swiatek noted.