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The Pole went from being a largely unknown
teenager ranked 54th in the world to acquiring celebrity status
when she won the title at Roland Garros in October.
Swiatek, who will begin her season in Melbourne at a WTA tune-up
event ahead of the Australian Open, was still feeling the
changes in her life as she toiled through her pre-season in
December in Tenerife, southern Spain.
"The two weeks were crazy after the French Open," Swiatek said
in an interview posted on the WTA website on Tuesday. "But
later, when we started focusing on practice, I thought it would
be hard for me because I was tired.
"But actually, when I was on court it was like coming back to
basics and back to what I know and what I've been doing for so
long. It was great. I could see that it's my place to be and I
felt safe there, good and confident."
Swiatek was the youngest woman to win the French Open since
Monica Seles in 1992 and the first to do so without dropping a
set since Justine Henin in 2007.
She subsequently climbed to a career-high 17th in the rankings
and was voted the most improved player and fan favourite in the
WTA awards.
Her coach Piotr Sierzputowski, who won the award for best coach,
is not satisfied with one Grand Slam title and the burden of
expectation is something Swiatek tried to address with her sport
psychologist Daria Abramowicz.
"When we were talking about our goals for next season, he said
he'll be satisfied when I win a few of them," Swiatek said.
"It's not going to be the only one and we're going to prove that
I can be consistent and be a mature player.
"We're also working with Daria on the mental side because I know
the next season will be harder for me because of expectations
and all that."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Ed Osmond)
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