Poland’s Iga Sviatek retained her first world ranking after winning the Tournament of Champions, and for the new year she set herself the goal of remaining at the top of the WTA hierarchy.

On Friday, Iga Svyatek will make her debut in the United Cup – the Pole wants to become the leader of the WTA in 2024 as well

Iga Sviatek will take part with his compatriot Hubert Gurkach in the United Cup, a mixed team tennis competition that replaces the Hopman Cup and starts on Friday in the Australian cities of Perth and Sydney.

“Winning matches in Cancun with so much pressure on the ranking gave me a lot of confidence,” the 22-year-old told a news conference.

“I learned a lot about myself. I can’t wait to get back, but I want to take it one step at a time. “I’m definitely more prepared than last year to face the pressure of being No. 1 in the world,” Sviatek said.

2024 is also an Olympic year, which has special significance for Svjanek, as his father Tomasz rowed in the 1988 Olympics.

In Tokyo, the young Pole was eliminated in the second round by the Spaniard Paula Badosa.

“The pressure was huge,” recalls Sviatek, who was eager to take part in the Olympic Games again, on the soil of Roland Garros, where she won the Grand Slam tournament three times (2020, 2022 and 2023).

“After I lost to Paula, I cried, it was a whole story. This time things will be a little different. I will know the places. This will be on my favorite surface. On the other hand, expectations will also be higher.

I will have to work the same as in all other tournaments, but I will not lie and say that it will be easy or the same, because it will definitely be a little different,” continued the Pole, according to Agerpres.