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American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin recently sent a congratulatory message to Iga Swiatek for lifting the 2024 Indian Wells Open title.
Shiffrin made a comeback to the sport in March after overcoming a devastating crash in Italy. The American has two Olympic gold medals under her belt. Being an avid sports fan, she often posts supportive messages for fellow athletes.
She took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to congratulate Swiatek and also praise her team. Swiatek posted a message expressing how proud she was of herself and her team.
"So, so proud of myself and the team. Thank you for the support and making me feel so comfortable in Tennis Paradise," Iga Swiatek wrote.
To this, Mikaela Shiffrin replied:
"What a team!! Congrats @iga_swiatek.
Back in January, Mikaela Shiffrin also appreciated Iga Swiatek for joining an elite list of tennis players who spent 100 weeks at the top spot. The Pole joined the likes of Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova on the list.
"💪💪 @iga_swiatek," commented Shiffrin.
Iga Swiatek: I'm pretty proud of the way I adapted to all these challenges
Iga Swiatek lifted the Indian Wells title after downing Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0. In the post-final press conference, Swiatek mentioned that she was proud of herself for adapting to the challenges. She said that she felt comfortable being the player everyone wanted to beat.
I'm pretty proud of the way I adapted to all these challenges that I had to face, first becoming World No. 1, then actually feeling comfortable with it and using it on court and being the target of many players that wanted to beat particularly me," Iga Swiatek said.
The Pole also said that she was incredibly proud of how she has handled the challenges of being the World No. 1 player.
"Then starting next season as World No. 1. So I'm really proud of how I handled everything. It's not like it just happens and then it's done. You have many things, you know, that you have to face during one season. So, I'm just pretty proud," Swiatek continued.
Swiatek also acknowledged that there will always be ups and downs and she won't always be comfortable under pressure.
"There are going to be ups and downs still, so I don't expect I'm always going to feel comfortable with pressure. Sometimes it hits harder; sometimes it doesn't hit at all. I wouldn't say that at some point I felt comfortable and that's it, now I'm going to be comfortable till the rest of my career," she said.
