Swiatek tunes out the noise in search of first Australian Open title

Iga Swiatek has learned how to cope with the pressure of being world No. 1 and hopes a changed mindset will help her dominate women’s tennis starting with the Australian Open after she closed off a challenging 2023 with a restful off season.

The 22-year-old Pole was the driving force on the women’s tour in 2022 when she enjoyed 37 consecutive wins before briefly losing top spot in the rankings to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka following a surprise last-16 exit at the U.S. Open.

However, despite two injuries, Swiatek finished top for the second year in a row, helped by winning her first WTA Finals trophy at the season-ending event in Mexico in early November.