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Swiatek, who will replace retired Australian Ash Barty as number
one when the rankings are updated on Monday, went from being a
largely unknown 19-year-old ranked 54th in the world to
acquiring celebrity status after her win at Roland Garros.
But she found it extremely difficult to adapt to her new-found
fame back in Poland and struggled to get to grips with increased
media demands and sponsorship deals.
"There is more excitement, because after winning Roland Garros
-- I can actually compare these two experiences, it's like on
the same level -- I felt a lot of doubt and I didn't really know
what's going to happen and how I'm going to handle that,"
Swiatek told reporters in Miami on Monday.
"But right now I feel more prepared and I feel like I'm in a
better place. So there is more excitement and more satisfaction
and actually positive thoughts and emotions. Because after
Roland Garros, it was really a mess."
Swiatek credits her work with sports psychologist Daria
Abramowicz for her improved mental strength. While defeat had
once felt like her world was falling apart, the Pole says she is
now much better prepared to handle adverse situations.
Monday's 6-3 6-1 victory over teenage American Coco Gauff marked
a career-best 14th straight win for Swiatek, who has already won
WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Indian Wells this season.
"After Roland Garros, we also started to kind of prepare for the
success, and ... there are going to be tough moments and there
is going to be a huge amount of pressure," Swiatek said.
"I have been doing well cutting off the expectations from the
outside. It was always, for me, harder to deal with my own
expectations that I had for myself."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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