Global Courant
Iga Swiatek, the No. 1 ranked women’s tennis player, is a huge fan of Taylor Swift, a “Swiftie,” as they are called.
Swiatek made the announcement after defeating Claire Liu in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, in the second round of the 2023 French Open, which came after her 22nd birthday on Wednesday.
After a post-game interview, Swiatek decided to draw the camera for her at Roland Garros, writing, “I feel 22! #Swiftie.”
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Iga Swiatek of Poland in action against Claire Liu of the United States in the second round at Roland Garros on June 1, 2023 in Paris. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
Reporters quickly caught on and had to ask Swiatek about her fandom. It wasn’t just the music that led Swiatek to like Swift, Swiatek said. Swift’s music also helped the Polish tennis star learn English.
“You know, when I was younger and a little confused about life and when I was a teenager, when I listened to her, I didn’t feel alone,” Swiatek said of Swift via ESPN. “I also learned English by listening to her songs. So she was always kind of close to me.”
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So it was only natural that when Swiatek’s 22nd birthday rolled around, the popular Swift song “22” would be stuck in her head.
Swiatek’s favorite of Swift’s 10 albums is “Red”, which has “22” on it. It also includes hit singles “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”.
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action against Claire Liu of the United States in the second round at Roland Garros on June 1, 2023 in Paris (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
But while everyone is clamoring to see Swift on “The Eras Tour,” Swiatek has a major part of her own with the French Open, followed by Wimbledon and the US Open, Grand Slam tournaments where she’s likely to be favored, just like in Paris.
So her focus is on winning. Despite being such a big fan, Swiatek said Swift is usually not in her headphones for matches.
“I don’t think it will pump me up,” she said. “Maybe ‘Shake It Off’ when I’m more stressed. Today was Lenny Kravitz, and I usually listen to more rock. Not too loud, but the bands that are kind of mainstream, and they have a lot of energy in their songs.”
Poland’s Iga Swiatek talks to the media after defeating Claire Liu of the United States in the second round at Roland Garros on June 1, 2023 in Paris. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
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Swiatek will rock for her third round match against China’s Xinyu Wang on Saturday.
Scott Thompson is a sportswriter for Fox News Digital.
