"What a long journey it has been to get here" - Iga Swiatek on fulfilling her dream of playing doubles with idol Rafael Nadal 

For Iga Swiatek, partnering Rafael Nadal for a mixed doubles match at the 'The Tennis Plays for Peace' event held by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) was a "dream come true."

The USTA held the exhibition event on August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day, and raised more than $1.2 million for humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

The 2022 US Open champion, a fan of the 22-time Grand Slam champion, spoke to Vogue about her experiences of sharing the court with Nadal and stated that the pair even played a singles match a few years ago.

"It was pretty amazing. We already played singles a couple of years ago at Roland Garros, which was a birthday gift from my team actually," she said.

Aside from the joy of playing alongside the Spaniard, Swiatek also felt honored to play a part in helping those suffering from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It was pretty amazing being on the same side of the court playing doubles, and especially for such a great cause—being able to use our voices together to help people is pretty amazing. It was kind of a moment where I stopped for a little bit and thought about what a long journey it has been to get here, and getting to do that is really a dream come true," she added.

Speaking about Nadal, Swiatek said that watching him battle his way to the Australian Open title this year gave her extra motivation to pursue her goals.

"Rafa is such a great person on and off the court and he has inspired me so much, especially this season when I watched his final at the Australian Open. It really gave me extra motivation and even more grit on court when I really needed that, so I’m grateful to have been able to spend some time around Rafa too," she shared.

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"It’s amazing, honestly, especially in these times when I feel like we all should be united" - Iga Swiatek on becoming first Polish player to win US Open

Iga Swiatek with the 2022 US Open trophy.

Iga Swiatek won her maiden US Open and third career Grand Slam title this past weekend. Her triumph in New York made her the first Pole to win the title at Flushing Meadows.

The 21-year-old believes that her title win comes at a time when her country's neighbor Ukraine has been locked in a war with Russia for more than six months.

"It’s amazing, honestly, especially in these times when I feel like we all should be united. As you know, there’s a war going on right next to our country, in Ukraine, so representing Poland and maybe being able to give people a little bit of joy and positive news outside of the problems that our world has, that’s really inspiring for me and it pushes me to go even further," she said.