Rafael Nadal’s Biggest Fan Iga Swiatek Reveals Emotional Moment Where He Inspired Her Despite His Career-Worst Moment
On October 10, the ‘King of Clay’ announced that he would hang up his racquet following the Davis Cup. After hearing this emotional announcement, Iga Swiatek, the ‘Queen of Clay’, shared an emotional post on her tennis idol. “You (Rafa) were and still are the biggest inspiration that I ever had in tennis. The reason why sometimes I got extra motivated and kept pushing myself.” Both Swiatek and Nadal are currently in Malaga. The Polish star is representing her nation at the BJK Cup Finals while Nadal is taking part in the Davis Cup. Amid all this, Swiatek, in an interview, recalled some of her fond memories with Nadal. One at the 2021 Roland Garros.
Talking about her specific memory or moment with Rafael Nadal to the Tennis Channel, Iga Swiatek said, “I remember we practiced in Roland Garros once. That was actually like a gift for my birthday. So we hit for like 15 minutes and I realized that he’s really down to earth and humble. That was the first time I talked to him, so it was special.” She further reflected on his SF loss to Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open, Nadal’s quest for the 14th title at the tournament.
“Then I remember in 2021 he lost the semi-finals against Novak [Djokovic] and I saw him, because we were all staying at the same hotel because of the COVID. I saw him somewhere in the hotel and I told him that I even cried when he lost. He was so calm, and he said, ‘That’s just tennis and life goes on and there are gonna be different goals in the future.’” While Nadal lost to the Serb 6-3,3-6,6 (4)-7,2-6, Swiatek was left impressed by Nadal’s composure. As she explained,
“So I was like, ‘Wow, this person really knows how to deal with losing, even your favorite tournament.’ I realized that off the court you also need to learn on how to deal with stuff to be a better player on the court,” said Swiatek. A year later, Nadal defeated Casper Ruud in the finals and won the tournament. It was his record-extending 14th and final French Open title and record-extending 22nd and final major title overall. It marked the first time in his career that he won the Australian Open and the French Open in the same calendar year.
