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WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish President Andrzej Duda was among those who congratulated the nation on Saturday after 19-year-old Iga Swiatek won the French Open, becoming the first Pole to win a Grand title. Slam in singles.
Swiatek, ranked 54th in the world at the start of the tournament but now in the top 20, crushed American Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-1 to become the youngest woman to win the French Open since Monica Seles in 1992.
She comes from the Polish town of Raszyn, on the outskirts of the capital Warsaw, but she trained and went to school in the city.
“Thank you very much and congratulations to @iga_swiatek! A historic day for Poland, for Polish sport and for Polish tennis. Bravo!” Duda tweeted.
Other politicians and national leaders followed suit, rejoicing in what many called Poland’s greatest tennis success.
“Congratulations to @iga_swiatek, who has achieved the success of her life today and, I am convinced, only the first success in the Grand Slam. An incredible story written by this young woman on the courts of #RolandGarros! Paris is Polish today! ” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki tweeted.
Swiatek was the first Polish woman to reach the Roland Garros final in 81 years and the first in any major since Agnieszka Radwanska at Wimbledon eight years ago.
“Congratulations @ iga.swiatek! A fabulous show for tennis,” Radwanska said in an Instagram post.
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski also congratulated his compatriot. “What an amazing success, what a great story! Good job @iga_swiatek,” the forward said on Twitter.
Former French Open champions Mats Wilander and Chris Evert also praised the young Pole.
“Iga looked so relieved but also calm,” Wilander told Eurosport. “He will win a lot more, you can see from his behavior during the final.”
While American Evert, who won seven French Open crowns, said: “What a wonderful two weeks of brilliant tennis. Many, many more GS titles to come.”
Swiatek lost just 28 games in seven matches at Roland Garros with her career to the final, including a first round win over 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova and a round of 16 loss over seeded Simona Halep.
(Report by Anna Koper and Joanna Plucinska, Additional Report by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
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