(Paris) The world No.1 and holder of the Iga Swiatek trophy, hit in the right thigh when she retired in Rome ten days ago, will be ready for her first round match at Roland-Garros, a she reassured on Friday.
“Luckily it was nothing serious, I took a few days off, I’m still recovering from my thigh injury, but I’ll be fine for my first lap, that’s the most important thing,” Swiatek said.
In the quarter-finals in Rome, opposed to the world N.4 Elena Rybakina, the 21-year-old Pole had given up two games everywhere in the third set, after winning the first 6-2 and losing the second in the decisive game (7 /3). It was during this tiebreaker, on a run in a defensive position, that Swiatek was visibly hurt.
“On the one hand, obviously it’s not easy to get injured knowing that you have a tournament the following week, but on the other hand, I’m very happy to have had these few extra days of rest, because I needed time to recharge myself,” she explains.
“Since the start of the Stuttgart tournament (mid-April), the only thing I was focused on was doing everything to play my matches as well as possible. I needed time to breathe and think about something else. Asking me for a few days was really helpful. Analyze what happened throughout the clay season, too. It’s a good way to approach the last tournament of the season on clay, with all the lessons learned.
Swiatek won in Stuttgart and lost in the final in Madrid, against world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, before Rome.
“It’s the first week since, say, Indian Wells (in March) where I’ve had time to take it easy and focus a bit more on my technique. I really take advantage of that time, because during the season, we don’t have a lot of it, she continues. I think it will give me a lot of confidence for the tournament. »
“I have more time after Rome than last year (she was titled there, editor’s note) and I can prepare more calmly for Roland-Garros”, she appreciates.
As for the place of world N.1 which will be at stake during the Paris fortnight, “I did not even know it”, answers Swiatek.