How world No. 1 Iga Swiatek cracked tennis code

RIYADH: Just over a week ago, an exhausted Iga Swiatek sat down with a small group of journalists in a quiet corner of the media center under the Philippe Chatrier stadium at Roland Garros to discuss her feelings after lifting the second Grand Slam trophy of her young career.

The world No. 1 engaged in some idle chat before everyone assembled for the roundtable. She spoke about heading to the nearby Bois de Boulogne – a public park close to Roland Garros – at least four or five times during the tournament fortnight, where she tried to connect with nature and relax on her days off.

She expressed an interest in attending the next day’s men’s final between her idol Rafael Nadal and Norwegian Casper Ruud and wondered if it would be a long showdown.

Swiatek’s own French Open final that afternoon, against American teenager Coco Gauff, had lasted just 68 minutes.

That triumph on Parisian clay saw Swiatek extend her current winning streak to 35 matches, the joint-longest unbeaten run in women’s tennis this century. Only two tennis players have put together longer winning streaks in the 2000s: Novak Djokovic (43) and Roger Federer (41).

The 21-year-old from Poland has won her last six consecutive tournaments – she has not lost a match since February – and heads to Wimbledon later this month a class apart from the rest of the field.

Swiatek sits atop the women’s rankings with a total of 8,631 points; her closest rival, world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit is over 4,000 points adrift.

A fascinating young mind that loves math and probability and travels the tennis tour with a sports psychologist that has given her the tools to gain a mental edge over her competitors on court, Swiatek gave some insight into how she has been