Iga Swiatek couldn’t escape tennis, even while watching Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors take down the Charlotte Hornets at Chase Center last week. The World No. 2 drew cheers when she appeared on the jumbotron during the Warriors’ 119-101 win.
"I loved watching this game," Swiatek told reporters at this week's BNP Paribas Open. "I was super grateful for the reception, because, I don't know, I wasn't really expecting that. It was amazing and I really appreciate that."
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So what did the five-time major champion make of the game? Swiatek explained as only she, the Hologic WTA Tour's leader of "bagel sets" could.
"It was more like a 6-love, 6-love match kind of," she said, laughing. "So it wasn't really super exciting till the end. They were winning it pretty easily. But still, watching Steph live was amazing, and, for sure, you can see the skills straightaway.
"I also thought about how it is for him when everybody just expects from him to have these three-point shots. I really, really respect how he manages that."
Swiatek knows a thing or two about great expectations -- and what happens when something assumed to be automatic suddenly isn't. The 23-year-old Polish player has already posted career numbers that set her on a clear path to becoming one of the best to ever pick up a racquet.
Among active players, only Venus Williams -- who has won only three matches since the summer of 2021 -- owns more Grand Slam singles titles than Swiatek. She's the first to win five since Maria Sharapova won her fifth in 2014. And with 22 WTA titles, Swiatek is the highest active tally of any player under 30 years of age.
But with those numbers comes a heavy burden.
Last month in Doha, her bid to win a fourth straight Qatar TotalEnergies Open title ended in the semifinals. This week, she returns to Indian Wells bidding to win a historic third title. She will open her title defense against former No. 4 Caroline Garcia in the second round.
Swiatek has a rare talent for dominating the same tournaments. She's won multiple titles at five events -- Roland Garros (4), Indian Wells (2), Rome (3), Doha (3) and Stuttgart (2) -- and the key to her success has been the ability to wipe the slate clean each time. A little bit of selective amnesia goes a long way.
"I don't remember how it was last year," Swiatek said. "I know that every swing is different. For example, two years ago in the Middle East I also got two walkovers. This year I didn't.
"There's no way to compare one year to the other, because that story can be totally different."
This season has already thrown a few curveballs Swiatek's way, for better and worse. After two years of falling short of the Australian Open quarterfinals, she came within a point of reaching the final. It was her deepest run at a non-clay major since winning the 2022 US Open.
The shorter practice block ahead of the Middle East swing left her feeling underprepared, leading to a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Ostapenko in the Doha semifinals and a 6-3, 6-3 defeat to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva in the Dubai quarterfinals.
As a result, Swiatek arrives at Indian Wells without a title for the first time since playing qualifying in 2019. For now, she’s not dwelling too much on the setbacks.
"We got here on Friday, and I wanted to come here earlier to have a full week of practice before actually even focusing on a tournament," she said. "It was more for me and my game and me developing as a player.
"It was nice, because here you can really practice in a peaceful way and with no other distractions. I really enjoyed this."
