Iga Swiatek says expectation on her has risen ahead of Indian Wells - 'A target on my back'

Iga Swiatek says there is a «target on her back» ahead of Indian Wells this year and admits she is feeling more pressure heading into the tournament than in previous editions. The Pole enjoyed a remarkable 2022 where she won a total of eight titles, including two of the four Grand Slams, and went on a 37-match winning streak. Last April she became world No.

1 following the shock retirement of Ash Barty. Ad Swiatek won the Qatar Open last month, but went out of the Australian Open in the last 16 and enters Indian Wells after a straight sets defeat to Barbora Krejcikova in the Dubai Tennis Championships final. WTA Indian Wells'When it rains it pours' — Raducanu says wrist injury has returned ahead of opener2 HOURS AGO The 21-year-old believes the expectation on her to perform at a high level every week has risen.

«After Doha and Dubai, I felt it [the expectation] pretty strongly,” Swiatek said. »Because I won a WTA 500 and was in the final of a 1000 — it was like a small streak of matches that were pretty solid and I was really composed. «But, still, I lost in the final and people were, I don’t know, surprised, not happy with the performance, just critical.

»And it made me think that last year before this huge streak and before winning all these tournaments I would be so happy with this result. But with all these comments right now, I felt like, ‘oh, that’s not enough’." 'When it rains it pours' — Raducanu says wrist injury has returned ahead of opener IWD: Big dreams, time to take risks and bridging the gender gap — WTA at 50 After receiving a first-round bye, Swiatek begins her Indian Wells campaign on Friday and will play the winner of the first round match between Claire Liu and Anna Schmiedlova. Swiatek says she needs