Iga Swiatek went through a press conference ahead of his debut at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he will seek his first title to cement his position as world number one. The Pole cited his need to adapt to the conditions in Madrid, as well as the controversy over the large difference in prize money between WTA Stuttgart and ATP Barcelona.
tournament bracket
tournament results
Quick preparation to play in Madrid
– I have started preparing today. I had two days off. Now I’m here and it’s my first day of practice. Of course, it will be a little more difficult to adapt to the conditions, from indoors to outdoors and at such high altitudes. I’m going to do my best and hopefully during the tournament I’ll feel better.
The need to adapt to circumstances
«There is no physical problem in particular. Basically, here in Madrid the balls fly much faster. We played Roland Garros (with balls) in Stuttgart, so my main goal was to play as hard as possible because these balls are heavy. Here, too, the balls are heavy, but it feels like they fly like bullets. You have to control them. The country is also a bit different. Mobility and so on, I have to get used to it all. But that’s okay. I just need a few days«.
Difference in prize money between Barcelona and Stuttgart
«It’s quite clear what I think, because tennis is one of those sports where we talk about fairness. I think we’re still better than most sports. But we still have a lot of work to do, looking for equal rewards in WTA tournaments compared to ATP tournaments of the same level. In Grand Slam tournaments, it already is. He doesn’t want to invest so much in me because it means a lot of work and sometimes politics. I don’t know if I have too much influence. All I can say is that it would be nice if everything was equal, especially since we basically do the same job.«.
