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22 May 2026 | 16.22
Iga Swiatek fully joins the players' versus Grand Slams war. Although in Rome, she showed her dissatisfaction and anger with the prize money of Roland Garros, she ruled out going as far as boycotting. But upon her arrival in Paris, where she only allowed a 15-minute Media Day, her speech has changed in two weeks, and now she will support whatever most of the two circuits decide.
Despite having lifted the Roland Garros trophy four times, most of the questions were about a possible boycott and the 15-minute limit as a protest. In that time, there were also questions about her feelings in Rome and her new mentality after ending her absolute dominance on clay.
The heat will play a leading role throughout most of the tournament
"The truth is, I am very happy to be back here. The preparation, honestly, has been like before any other tournament: training solidly and also having time to recover. But obviously, today the conditions have changed, so from now on, I believe the training will be different than it was two days ago. It's important to reacquaint myself with the court sensations now with the heat."
Iga Swiatek confirmed her participation in the 15-minute Media Day protest at Roland Garros
"Yes, I will also do only 15 minutes. I am following the structure. So, sorry, do you want to spend time on this question or prefer to move on? Yes, I am participating. Well, first of all, I feel that none of us has anything against the media, obviously, and we totally respect you. We know how important our relationship is."
"But with the tournaments, I feel that we will do more for the tournaments when they do more for us. And not just for the top players, because obviously we are the ones who have the most contact with you, but also for the lower-ranked players and for the entire structure in general. So personally, it's nothing against you, but this is the decision we have made and we will stick to it."
She was unaware of the complaints from the WTA Dubai director, who called for sanctions against her and Sabalenka for withdrawing last minute from the tournament
"I hadn't heard about it. I had heard the complaints, but not about the sanctions, probably because it's a bit ridiculous. We have the right to withdraw whenever we want. Honestly, I don't see the problem. If we are not in physical condition or feel that it's not the right time to play a tournament, are we slaves? We can decide. Besides, we already receive zero points in the ranking. That is already a punishment."
Opens the door to a boycott and to what the majority of players decide
"It's hard to know what will happen in the coming weeks. I think we'll follow what we collectively decide. But there are many factors, and it also depends on how the tournaments react, so I can't say right now whether we will do one thing or another. I don't think doing something that is not constructive makes sense, but we do want to exert a little more pressure to get what we need and for the tournaments to be more open to the dialogue we believe is necessary."
Arrives at Roland Garros with good sensations from Rome
"Well, last year my Rome tournament felt like a cold shower. I woke up cold, felt awful on the court. So this year, after some good matches, there is much more positive energy. It's good to arrive with several solid matches under my belt. It's different, but I always say that each tournament is a new story, no matter if you won in Rome or lost in the second round. There's always time to reset and start from a different perspective."
"I think I bring good sensations from this year's Rome, positive feedback after the matches. Also, I had the opportunity to compete under pressure, play short matches, regain the competitive rhythm, something I didn't have last year. But still, this is a completely different tournament, with other conditions, especially now with the heat. You have to be humble and understand that you have to fight every match."
Confesses that mentally the toughest Roland Garros was in 2023
"Honestly, I wouldn't divide those situations between 'when I was dominating' and 'when I wasn't,' because even when I was dominant, there were days when I felt good, others very anxious, and others where I just went out to play without thinking too much. For example, in 2023, I played the final in Madrid, withdrew in Rome even though I had a good tournament, and then won here. But honestly, I never felt as anxious as in 2023."
"Each year is different. Last year, I felt I needed to work more on the tennis aspect than on the mental, although I did feel a lot of pressure. Everyone was looking at my results on clay and judging me constantly. But in 2024, I don't know, I enjoyed every day. I didn't feel external pressure. Perhaps I was very focused only on myself, totally in my own bubble, and just let everything flow. Every year brings different challenges, no matter if you're dominating or not. The important thing is to adapt to them, rather than think about the results or tennis itself," concludes Iga Swiatek, who follows the line of protests: more prize money or the threat of a possible boycott will start to become real.
Cette actualité est une traduction automatique. Vous pouvez lire la nouvelle originale Swiatek: "Haremos más por los torneos cuando ellos hagan más por nosotros"
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21 May 2026 | 17:00Nadal explique pourquoi il a essayé une dernière fois à Roland Garros 2024 -
22 May 2026 | 13:00Fritz : "Nous ne demandons pas plus d'argent, mais quelque chose qui est juste"
