Iga Swiatek grew up a 'fighter' on Warsaw's tennis courts

Swiatek, the world number one who on Saturday could win her second French Open title, has displayed a fighting spirit since her early days hammering balls on Warsaw's tennis courts. "She was a little kid who really wanted to learn how to play as quickly as possible, and once she did, what mattered most to her was winning," said Artur Szostaczko, her first coach. "She was a fighter... I knew that if it went to a super tiebreak, there was no need to worry -- Iga wouldn't crack under the pressure," the 51-year-old told AFP.

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Szostaczko still teaches on the clay court where the Polish phenomenon first picked up a racket and tried her hand at hitting against a concrete wall during her older sister's lesson. "Left, right, the whole time she was running about having a ball," he said by the wall covered in colourful graffiti at the Warszawianka tennis club. "Normally a small child has trouble hitting even one or two balls but she could keep it going for dozens of shots," added the coach, who like Swiatek, always has a baseball cap on his head. Szostaczko taught the talented sisters -- whose father Tomasz is an Olympic rower -- for five years, until Swiatek was 10 years old. Fast forward a decade and Swiatek is at the top of women's tennis, already with one Roland Garros title under her belt in 2020 and a current unbeaten streak of 34 matches. The 21-year-old will equal Venus Williams' record for the longest women's winning run since 2000 if she beats Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday. Szostaczko said