Iga Swiatek’s disappointment after claiming the French Open title can be explained by her reaction to the 2022 US Open trophy.
The tennis World No1 became a four-time champion at Roland Garros on Saturday. Swiatek, 23, defeated Italy’s 12th seed Jasmine Paolini with a swift 6-2 6-1 win in just over an hour.
It added to her 2020, 2022 and 2023 wins in the second major of the year. Her only other Grand Slam triumph came at Flushing Meadows two years ago.
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She went viral in the aftermath of that when a heartwarming moment was prompted by an official who told her to take a look inside her shiny new trophy, reports the Express.
Tucked away inside was a slice of tiramisu, Swiatek’s go-to celebration treat. She was chuffed to bits as she pulled out the Italian dessert, which consists of a sponge with coffee, chocolate and creamy mascarpone layers.
Swiatek couldn’t hold back her excitement, exclaiming: “Oh my God! Are you kidding me?! Wow, who did that? Thank you guys, it’s so nice. I’m going to get dirty now. Thank you, I really appreciate that – especially because I don’t have time to eat.”
(Image: Getty Images)
That’s why she put a glum look on her face when discovering the French Open officials hadn’t followed suit with her Suzanne-Lenglen cup, taking the lid off to find no sight of tiramisu. But her love of Roland Garros remains strong.
She burst into tears as she said post-match: “I love this place, honestly. I wait every year to come back here. I was almost out of the tournament in the second round. So thank you guys for having my back and cheering for me, I also needed to believe that this moment was possible.
“When I talk about pressure, I usually put pressure on myself because of pressure of the outside. Obviously I’m a perfectionist, so there is always pressure, like, behind me.
“But I think I’m fine with, like, handling my own pressure. It’s when the pressure from the outside hits me, then it’s a little bit worse. But I managed it really well at this tournament.”