World No. 1 and US Open champion Iga Swiatek speaks to CNN, saying she had no regrets about her decision to walk away from her professional tennis career.
Swiatek (R) talks to the camera in a television interview outside Los Angeles’ California Tennis Center on Thursday. Swiatek has announced she is retiring from tennis.
Swiatek, the No. 1 and U.S. Open champion, says she had no regrets about her decision to retire from professional tennis.
“People go through life and they make decisions based on emotion. That’s how I got here. I had emotions that were too high and it took a lot to let me go…. It was the right time for me and I’ll be OK.”
Swiatek, who was ranked No. 1 for a record 49 weeks in September, had said she was uncertain about an ongoing back problem. She also said she had other factors influencing her decision to retire.
She told CNN she had surgery two weeks ago after feeling pain in her back and had started missing practice.
Swiatek also said she did not feel nervous before the US Open, where she became the first U.S. Open champion since Billie Jean King in 1973.
Swiatek, who won two Wimbledon titles, said she felt comfortable in her new professional status and would have no regrets about sticking with it.
“You always want to have the best opportunity at the beginning of your career,” she said.
CNN’s David Mat usages Swiatek’s response to talk-show host Chris Rose as part of CNN Presents.
“She has got to be kidding. In my mind she has got nothing left to prove,” Rose said.
Swiatek said the US Open was “a beautiful place to play,” but she said the U.S. Open should play more matches because of the number of people watching.