Iga Swiatek is not the biggest fan of grass tennis, but even so, she won’t skip the 2024 Wimbledon Championships because of the Olympics.
There were speculations that the Polish player might opt against playing on grass to better prepare for the Olympic Games. It’s a huge goal for her to win a medal for Poland, with the gold one being highly preferred.
The competition is played on courts she knows very well, the Roland Garros, which is only a bonus because she has already proved her best there three times, winning three Grand Slams in Paris.
It’s a huge chance for her to make her dream a reality, and it’s the most important event in her calendar. That’s why some assumed she might skip over the grass-court part of the season, which she admittedly doesn’t like very much, in favor of just playing on clay until the Olympic Games roll around.
In some ways, it does make sense, but it won’t be happening, as her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, admitted that she will be playing on grass at Wimbledon.
It might not be her favorite surface, and she might not play her best tennis there, but it’s the most prestigious tennis event in history, so obviously, she doesn’t want to miss that.
“We go one by one. The goal this year is, of course, the Olympics and still Grand Slam tournaments. We will not miss Wimbledon because we will have to prepare for the Olympics.”
“There is enough distance between these tournaments to prepare for all of them. Especially since Iga needs the least amount of preparation time to play on clay courts.”
Whether anything in these plans changes highly depends on how Roland Garros unfolds. If she cruises there, then she might feel good about her level to continue to the grass season.
If she loses early at that event, she might opt for more time on clay ahead of the Olympic Games, but for now, the plan is clear.
