Robert Piotr Radwański raised two greats polishing Tennis players: Agnieszka and Urszula. The oldest was the second rocket in the world, and the youngest one was 29th in the WTA rankings. We spoke with the father of the Radwański family, among others about the dominance of Iga Świątek, threats to her, privacy Toys At Wimbledon, Serena Williams returns and the Russians and Belarusians are excluded from Wimbledon.
What do you think – what has changed since February when Iga Świątek started to dominate women’s tennis?
Robert Peter Radwański: a year ago IgA She was a teenager, an immature girl. The year before, she played just as well in terms of tennis as she does now, but her psychological aspect has changed. Iga is mature, and there are no more emotional reactions on the field. Earlier, when she was having a crisis, she immediately fell into a worse psychological state. Now gone.
How would you rate her physical readiness for competition?
She is fully prepared physically, a class better than all her competitors. It’s simply easy to play, and when you feel “peace of mind” at the same time, you start to take control. Playing like a tank, it’s very difficult to break her group, let alone win a match with her. Chinese Cheng He managed to win the set against Iga at Roland Garros, but it was a bit of a coincidence after the tiebreak. IgA She’s an adult on the court, and she’s had a great time. It may be for as long as possible.
It is difficult to get rid of the impression that opponents are beginning to be afraid to play with Iga Švetik. Recently, the Russian Daria Kasatkina spoke about it.
This can also be seen in the ranking. Iga plays very well. He has a lot of victories. She also had a generational change in women’s tennis. Lots of new girls went to the tour. They don’t know yet how to play with Iga (laughs). They may not have learned that yet. The tennis player uses it for five minutes.
Iga is well prepared for the match, but fatigue cannot be deceived. This year I have already played 48 games, which is three games less than the entire previous season.
This is correct. You cannot overdo it. I know she is young and striving for a goal, but her career is supposed to last, for example, 10-12 years, and does not end in a couple of years. Severe injuries should be avoided. It is now important that her startup policy be smart, and that she does not play Iga too often. When you win, you reach the finals all the time, and you get a lot of games in a short amount of time. She reports in the final in every tournament. You have to be careful. It is very good that he is now on a break before Wimbledon. Nobody has metal knuckles.
You mentioned that Iga was in transition on the Women’s Tour. Is the lack of strong personalities, apart from the Polish tennis player, a big problem for WTA games?
It’s definitely a small problem. As far as I know, there has been a decline in TV viewers. Older people are leaving, and new stars, except for Iga, need more time.
Serena Williams is back. She will play in Wimbledon, and got a “wild card” from the organizers. How do you look at it?
I’m glad she’s back, but I’d like to play well after she’s back. The return itself may not be enough. I’m a bit pessimistic about its potential success. However, 40 is a very advanced age in tennis. Williams may have trouble running, and the tendons are different. On the lawn, it can be especially difficult due to the peculiarity of the surface, where you can really hurt yourself. I wish her to end up with honor and health, and that no one had to take her out of court in a wheelchair.
You mentioned the peculiarity of the grass. Could Iga Świątek have problems on this surface?
This is, of course, a wish, because at the moment I do not see any competitor who could threaten it. Iga is in such a shape that she kicked out the rest of the group. However, I always remind you that grass pitches are unique. We note the so-called contrasting strokes – at first you play hard, then lighter, playing a lot on small fields, you need your cunning. True, this surface is slower than it was before, the English slow down, but the hits on the grass are very flat, and the ball flies low over the net. You can’t see it on TV, the camera has to be placed on the side of the field to be able to track the height of the ball. On clay courts or on concrete, the game is slightly different, it is higher. We’ll see how Iga can handle it.
When Agnieszka Radwańska ended her career at the end of 2018, there were many concerns and voices that there was now a void in Polish tennis. Did you expect we’d see another tennis player on top so quickly?
dreamed of After Agnieszka finished her career, I said I would very much like to have her successor soon, and wouldn’t have to wait 50 years for it. Fortunately, after two years it turned out that we have such a girl. We also have other tennis players. Ola is also trying to get back into playing better. In the men, there is the great Hubert Hurkacz, who even has a chance to win the entire Wimbledon championship. He reached the semi-finals last year.
American media recently reported that Agnieszka Radwańska will play an exhibition match for Ukraine with Iga Świątek in Krakow in July. Can you tell me more about it?
Unfortunately, I can’t say anything else about it. But there are already some plans. And as far as I know, it is organized by the staff of Iga Świątek. We appear in it more as guests.
It is a big thing that our best tennis players are involved in Ukraine’s affairs. Especially the majority of the tennis community in the world does not show much solidarity with Ukrainians. Wimbledon excluded Russians and Belarusians, and in response, the English tennis authorities punished by denying players points for their performances on the lawn in London.
I am frustrated with this. Wimbledon authorities defend themselves. I’m an advocate of treating players individually, but this is an English Championship. They invite whoever they want, you can’t interfere. It’s like you’re throwing a birthday party and I’m going to punish you for not inviting someone. It is a scandal punishing Wimbledon, taking points from them. Fortunately, it is a prestigious tournament that attracts the biggest players without any points.
Agnieszka Radwańska and Jelena Janković will also play in Wimbledon in the Legends Doubles competition.
Yes, he will be co-starring with older stars. It will be in a noble group. This is a very prestigious case.
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