Swiatek was all set for Champions League final – but decided not to break her Roland-Garros rhythm

Iga Swiatek “really wanted to go” to see Real Madrid against Liverpool at the Stade de France on Saturday. But she’ll wait to be a multiple-Slam winner before allowing herself to break her routine with special moments like this

Iga Swiatek serving, Roland-Garros 2022 Iga Swiatek serving, Roland-Garros 2022 © AI / Reuters / Panoramic

You have the ones who just can’t miss it because they are Real Madrid fanatics, like Rafael Nadal. You have the football lovers who would like to attend the Champions League final in Saint-Denis, like Diego Schwartzman.

Then there’s Iga Swiatek, the world No 1, who’d love to go, whose schedule worked out to allow her to attend, but decided not to because winning at Roland-Garros is her priority.

Rafael Nadal is seen inside the Stade de France, Champions League Final, Liverpool v Real Madrid (© AI / Reuters / Panoramic)

“I was thinking about it,” she smiled during a press conference on Saturday, after winning against Danka Kovinic in the third round. “I really wanted to go, because I have never actually saw a football match in a good level, it was actually possible for me, but I’m not that sure like yet if it’s going to interfere with my rhythm and the tournament.

So I actually talked with my team about it yesterday that maybe in like two, three years, I’m going to be able to go in like some exciting events during and I’m still going to be able to focus. Now it’s still pretty tricky for me, so I decided it’s better to keep the routines.”

Swiatek: I don’t know who’s going to win!

Swiatek wrote “Real Madrid? Liverpool ?” on the camera after her match but admitted there was no specific reason behind it.

“I don’t know,” she responded. “I just feel this whole day in the back of my mind we have a final out there. Just curious what people are going to say, how they are going to answer. I don’t know honestly who is going to win and I’m not cheering for anybody because I’m not like a football fan!”

As for her revelation that she has never seen “a football match in a good level”, a journalist from Poland noted that, being Polish, it was perhaps unsurprising.

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