Iga Swiatek: "I don't want to see Rafael Nadal suffering a lot"

It is no secret that Iga Swiatek is a big fan of Rafael Nadal. But the World No. 1 doesn't want to see Nadal make himself available at the upcoming French Open if it means he has to "suffer" a lot.

The tennis world was sent into a tizzy on Friday after videos surfaced on social media of Nadal in visible pain during one of his latest training sessions. The videos cast further doubt on the Spaniard's participation in Roland Garros.

Currently on the sidelines due to a hip injury, the defending champion is yet to play a match on clay this year. If he does show up in Paris, he will be sorely lacking in match practice.

Meanwhile Swiatek, the defending champion at the French Open on the women's side, has continued her good run of form. She beat former Roland Garros runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-0 in her opener at the Italian Open.

Speaking at her press conference afterwards, the 21-year-old was asked about Nadal's chances at the Clay Major. Swiatek responded that the Mallorcan has always been a warrior who outdid expectations at every turn.

"I'm a big Rafa fan. For sure I wish he could play. But honestly, like, I really, really respect what kind of warrior he is. He's always trying to push and trying to get better and play better and just trying to compete on the highest level," Iga Swiatek said.

At the same time, she declared that it was more important for Nadal to be "healthy" and "happy," even if it means he has to put aside his tennis goals for a while. While Iga Swiatek admitted that she would love to see the former World No. 1 show up in Paris once again, she did not think the risk of seeing him suffer was worth it.

"But on the other hand I don't know how much, like, pain he's living with. I don't want to, like, see him suffering a lot. I'm kind of like biased because I would love to see him play, but on the other hand I know if he's going to really, like, suffer, it's not going to be so fun to see him like that," Swiatek said.

"I just hope he's going to kind of be healthy and happy. That's like the main goal no matter what happens with tennis," she added.

"All Rafael Nadal fans, and I'm one of them, are worried" - Boris Becker

2019 US Open - Day 2

German tennis legend Boris Becker echoed a similar sentiment in a recent interview, stating that he was worried for Rafael Nadal and his chances at the French Open.

Becker is convinced that something "really bad" must have happened for the Spaniard to miss so many clay tournaments on the trot. He even wondered if this year's Roland Garros could be Nadal's last ever appearance on tour.

"All [Rafael] Nadal fans, and I'm one of them, are worried," Becker said. "It happens that he is injured. After his injury in Melbourne, it was said that he would be fit again for the clay-court season. That was not the case. If he cancels the clay-court tournaments in preparation for Roland-Garros, something really bad must have happened."

"A player always has to decide for himself which is his last tournament - and I sincerely hope that for Rafa, it won't be the Roland-Garros tournament this year," he added.