Iga Swiatek has dismissed the talk surrounding a new three-way rivalry between herself, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina.
Swiatek’s triumph at the 2023 French Open intensified discussions of a potential Big 3-esque rivalry between herself, Sabalenka and Rybakina. The trio currently hold each of the four Grand Slam titles among them and at least one of them has featured in every WTA 1000 final so far this season.
Questions regarding their budding three-way rivalry were posed to Swiatek incessantly over the course of her Roland Garros campaign. The Pole highlighted the noticeable shift in attention towards her rivalry with other players, as compared to last year.
“Last year I wasn’t even asked about other players and this year I’m asked basically in every press conference a couple of times, even though they’re on the other side of the draw, there’s nothing really connecting us in this tournament — there’s always something around that’s implying that things are different,” Iga Swiatek told Arab News.
The World No. 1 highlighted the importance of focusing on her own goals rather than being consumed by other players and their rankings.
“But you always have to come back to what it is you want to achieve because it has nothing to do with other players, even rankings sometimes. Because you want to win matches and tournaments, and rankings go up after that,” she added.
