Iga Swiatek dropped her racket, put her hands in front of her face and crouched down in tears for several seconds. In a final thriller lasting 2:46 hours, the 22-year-old Pole celebrated her third triumph at the French Open.
The world number one dropped the first set of the tournament, but proved her nerves of steel and her extra class at the end. Iga Swiatek won the final of the French Open in Paris against Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
Hat’s off, champ RolandGarros | @iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/Iw49NVgC9K
– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 10, 2023
Triumph for Swiatek – biggest success so far for Karolina Muchova
Iga Swiatek, just 22, had already triumphed at the clay court classic in Paris in 2020 and 2022. The Pole was born in Warsaw and has been a professional tennis player since 2018.
The losing world number 43 comes from Olomouc, where her father was a football coach. The 26-year-old Karolina Muchova celebrated the biggest success of her career so far by reaching her first Grand Slam tournament final.
Un moment d’histoire
L’instant où Iga Swiatek remporte à 22 ans son 4e titre en Grand Chelem et le 3e à RolandGarros
La n°1 mondiale devient également la plus jeune joueuse à défendre son titre à Paris depuis Monica Seles (1990, 1991, 1992). pic.twitter.com/FE3xu72KFQ
– Univers Tennis (@UniversTennis) June 10, 2023
Swiatek once again underlined her current exceptional status: only Monica Seles and Naomi Osaka had previously won each of their first four Grand Slam finals in women’s professional tennis history.
Little incident at the ceremony
As she held the trophy aloft, Iga Swiatek was a little brusque – and the lid of the handle pot fell off. Of course, this does not detract from her performance.