World No. 1 Iga Svetek may be dominant on the tennis court, but she hasn’t had the same success on the slopes.
While talking about her friendships with Olympic gold medalist skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsay Vonn, the 22-year-old Pole reflected on a traumatic moment when she almost died skiing.
“The last time I skied was when I was seven and I had an accident where I could have died, so I was really scared,” Svetek said after winning the first round of the US Open on Monday. “I don’t get scared that easily, but that sure stopped me.”
Swiatek has been open about trying to be as versatile a person as possible — acquiring skills off the tennis court. She has also discussed her passion for music and playing the guitar.
“They [Shiffrin and Vonn] are a huge inspiration to me,” she said. “I just feel like our sports are kind of connected… We have similar experiences, especially I feel like when I listen to all of Mikaela’s interviews, I feel like we’re kind of the same sometimes.”
Swiatek and Shiffrin recently did an Instagram live together. They chatted about a variety of topics, including their admiration for each other, being at the top of their sports and their respective charities. The conversation ended with the two agreeing to hit the tennis court together.
“It’s nice to have someone who you can look up to and who shares the same experience that you can learn from,” Svetek said. “I’m happy that they’re also so open to talking about anything.”
Swiatek crushed Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour in her first match in New York.
Svetek, who has held the world No. 1 ranking since April 2022, will face Australian Daria Gavrilova in the second round of the US Open.