"Just seeing her around is great because she's such a legend, there's nobody that has done so much in tennis" - Iga Swiatek on Serena Williams' Wimbledon return

Current World No. 1 Iga Swiatek heads into Wimbledon this year as the player to beat. The Pole has been in red-hot form this season, winning 35 matches and six titles on the trot, including the French Open.

During a press conference before the start of Wimbledon, Swiatek spoke about Serena Williams' return to action after nearly a year on the sidelines. She said she was "pretty overwhelmed" when she saw the 23-time Grand Slam champion on Friday and it took her back to her early days on tour when she was too shy to greet anyone.

"When I saw her (on Friday), I was pretty overwhelmed. I didn't know how to react perfectly. It was pretty weird. So I came back to myself (a) few years earlier, when I was too shy to say 'hi' to anybody for a second. But I feel that just seeing her around is great because she's such a legend. There's nobody that has done so much in tennis," Swiatek said.

One of the historic customs at Wimbledon is that the defending champion opens proceedings on Centre Court. With last year's winner Ashleigh Barty having retired, Iga Swiatek spoke about the honor of being chosen to replace the Australian.

"I know that there have been some discussions about who should open and I feel really privileged that I’ve been chosen. It’s a great thing for me. I feel privileged and proud of myself mostly. Hopefully it’s going to be a good show," she said.

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"It was hard to chill out and to not do anything, because I felt like adrenaline was up" - Iga Swiatek on her short break after the French Open

Iga Swiatek practices her serve

For all Iga Swiatek's dominance on the women's tour, she hasn't fared all that well at Wimbledon. The Pole won the British Major as a junior but hasn't been able to replicate that success on the WTA tour, with a fourth-round finish in 2021 being her best result so far.

During her press conference, Swiatek spoke about how she has spent only four years on the tour and was happy with how she has progressed in that time.

"Still, four years - it’s not like a lot of time. But that was probably the most important time in my career in terms of developing and finding my game and learning how to do new stuff on court. It seems like a different world, honestly. A lot has happened since then. I'm happy that I was able to reach every stage of the journey and not stop at any of it," she said.

The World No. 1 also spoke about how hard it was to switch off during her short break after the French Open because the adrenaline was pumping "after such an intense time."

"It was hard to chill out and to not do anything, because I felt like adrenaline was up. I couldn’t actually lay down and not do anything after such an intense time. But I didn’t have to worry about eating good or sleeping good, so that was pretty nice," Iga Swiatek said.