"What a year Iga Swiatek has had" - Martina Navratilova 

Iga Swiatek
Martina Navratilova congratulates Iga Swiatek for her excellent season

18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova took to social media to congratulate Iga Swiatek on her stellar season.

Swiatek became the No. 1-ranked player in the world after Ashleigh Barty retired in March. Since then, the Pole has been unstoppable, winning eight titles, her most recent one coming in San Diego on Sunday.

"What a year Iga has had!!!" tweeted Navratilova after Swiatek beat Donna Vekic in the San Diego final.

"I really feel I can face anything right now; hopefully this feeling is going to stay for a long time" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek with the trophy after defeating Donna Vekic at the San Diego Open - Day 7
Iga Swiatek with the trophy after defeating Donna Vekic at the San Diego Open - Day 7

Iga Swiatek defeated Donna Vekic in the final of the San Diego Open, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. It wasn't a straight forward week for the World No. 1 as she was pushed to three sets in three of her four matches.

In an interview with the WTA, Swiatek spoke about the adjustments she had to make throughout the week while steering clear of over-analyzing. The World No. 1 also emphasized how she felt better day by day and was proud of the problem-solving skills she displayed.

"The key for sure was adjusting and focusing on the right things because I felt I had some obstacles to face, but at the same time I didn't want to waste energy over-analyzing that," Swiatek said. "I felt better day by day and I feel like I used that yesterday against Jessie [Pegula] and today. I problem-solved again, so I'm really proud of that because I felt like these were tight matches and in the end I had this idea that I could do it differently and it worked."

Swiatek further elaborated on her mindset during the week and the confidence she has developed in her own ability.

"I don't know, I just realized that it's working and it's not fun to always think about stuff," she continued. "I just accepted that sometimes it's going to happen. I'm just getting more sure that I have skills on court that I can come back from any situation."
"This season, playing in different conditions and sometimes coming back, playing really long matches, or even keeping your focus and being sharp in these short matches, it really gave me the confidence that I can use all these skills. I really feel I can face anything right now, you know? Hopefully this feeling is going to stay for a long time," she added.

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