Iga Świątek responded sarcastically to a reporter who suggested that her recent on-court “aggressive” behavior was a reaction to Aryna Sabalenka overtaking her and becoming World No. 1.
Currently, Świątek is competing at the 2025 China Open. In the lead-up to the tournament in Beijing, the six-time Grand Slam champion participated in the Korea Open, where she defeated Sorana Cîrstea, Barbora Krejčíková, Maya Joint, and Ekaterina Alexandrova to claim her 25th career WTA Tour singles title.
What Did Iga Świątek Say About Being Second to Ayna Sabalenka in the World Ranking?
At the 2025 China Open, Świątek is the top seed and began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She faced wild card Yuan Yue in her opening match and won with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-3.
During the post-match press conference, a reporter asked Świątek if her change in on-court personality, being more animated and playing with increased aggression, was a result of losing her World No. 1 ranking to Sabalenka.
In response, the Pole sarcastically thanked the reporter for “overanalyzing” her on-court personality. She clarified that she is not a different person and that her behavior has not changed simply because she is now ranked No. 2.
“Well, thank you for overanalyzing, but… No, like, I don’t even know how to answer that ’cause, no, I’m not different person because I’m No. 2. I’m not behaving differently because I’m No. 2. Like, I don’t think about it every day. I don’t think about it especially during the match when I have work to do,” the Pole said.
Świątek explained that, as she is older and more experienced, she does not constantly think about the World No. 1 ranking.
“I think maybe, I don’t know, I’m different because I’m older or more experienced or sometimes, I don’t know, whatever. But the rankings have nothing to do with that, I would say. There are tournaments when maybe I felt like at the beginning of the year, when I posted this Instagram explanation, I was thinking about No. 1 maybe a little bit too much,” she continued.
The six-time Grand Slam champion mentioned that she wouldn’t alter her personality based on rankings, as doing so would not be healthy.
“But yeah, this is just like a moment or few weeks. It’s never going to be that your personality on court is changing because of something like that, in my opinion, because that would be weird. That would have too much impact on you and it wouldn’t be healthy, I guess,” Świątek added.
Who Will Iga Świątek Face at the 2025 China Open 3R?
Following her victory over Yue in the second round of the 2025 China Open, Świątek is set to face Camila Osorio in the third round of the tournament.
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In the lead-up to the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in Beijing, Osorio competed at the 2025 Guadalajara Open. There, she defeated Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round before losing to the eventual champion, Iva Jović, in the second round.
At the China Open, Osorio began her campaign by eliminating Ann Li in the first round with a score of 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5. She secured her place in the third round against Świątek by overcoming 28th seed Anna Kalinskaya with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round.
Świątek and Osorio have faced each other only once previously on the WTA Tour, in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, where the former World No. 1 won 6-3, 6-2.
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The winner of the third round match between Świątek and Osorio at the 2025 China Open will advance to face either 16th seed Emma Navarro or Loïs Boisson in the fourth round.