Stress tests, Sudoku & more: Swiatek's mental strategy

The final count was, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, and surely the lessons will endure.

Iga Swiatek may have dropped a tough three-setter to Simona Halep in Melbourne, but the right kind of headstrong execution she displayed in Paris last year to capture her first major, that's here to stay.

That's a tribute to her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, who joined the teen phenom's camp to become the Polish No. 1's mental health lead. It's what saw Swiatek deliver a straight-sets blitz of Halep at Roland Garros in October 2020, at the same fourth-round mark.

As New York Times scribe Matthew Futterman reported:

Many top tennis players consult with mental coaches, but Abramowicz works with Swiatek much more frequently than usual for the sport. Abramowicz also takes a counterintuitive approach of prioritizing gratitude, human relationships and personal growth as a path to winning. ... They talk off the court for hours on end about Swiatek’s fears and her dreams. They work to deepen Swiatek’s relationships with relatives and friends, the people who can provide emotional stability—'the human anchor,' Abramowicz calls it.

Futterman has it that Swiatek recently viewed a documentary film about Diana, Princess of Wales, to adjust to an increasingly celebrated, increasingly scrutinized life. She just as easily could have watched the Framing Britney Spears docufilm from Futterman's own organization, which tracks the media-crazed coverage of a pop-music star, close in age to Swiatek at that time, who suffered in the harsh glare of public criticism coming from all corners, including those close to her.

The Times piece about Swiatek and Abramowicz's practices—stress tests, Sudoku puzzles, and more—makes for a compelling read. It also translates the 33-year-old Abramowicz's competitive-sailing experience into her sports-psych role for someone about a decade and a half younger than her.

Paris won't mark Swiatek's last Grand Slam triumph, but it ensured she will be a mainstay for the next 15 years, or however long she plans to play. How bright the lights' glare on her in the future resides in her fearsome forehand spin—and in her head.