2025 Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek is the second seed in this week’s National Bank Open WTA 1000 event in Montreal, Canada. Swiatek has not won a hardcourt tournament since Indian Wells in March 2024, but she arrives in Canada, relaxed, refreshed, and still blissfully happy about winning Wimbledon.
Swiatek said that even if she plays bad the rest of the year (which is highly unlikely), she will still be thrilled about winning Wimbledon because the victory still surprises her. All of the talk about Iga not playing well on grass is now put to bed, and Swiatek can swing freely and play loose. That could be a scary proposition for the WTA field.
Iga Swiatek is beloved in Canada for many reasons, but one has to do with her name.
Swiatek Practicing In IGA Stadium
IGA is a supermarket chain in Canada who has sponsorship rights to the NBO Montreal stadium. For that reason, IGA loves it when Iga trains or plays there.
Iga Swiatek on the ‘IGA Stadium’ in Montreal:
“Having a stadium named after me… huge privilege. Let’s pretend that’s the story… I feel more happy when I see that it’s Iga stadium. They should do this more often” 😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 6, 2023
#igaŚwiatek 👸🎾🇵🇱
Our Queen 👑 Her stadium 🔥
(📽 2022) #NBO25 #OBN25 pic.twitter.com/qW65GkNEfe— Fan 2 Iga Forever ❤🏆👸🎾🇵🇱 (@Fan2Tennis44) July 24, 2025
Iga Swiatek’s Dissenters Have Quieted Down
Iga Swiatek was clear after winning Wimbledon that she wanted the people in Poland to stop questioning and doubting her and allow her to do her job. In the past year, Swiatek has been barraged with negativity from the failed doping test with the contaminated melatonin to the partnership with Coach Wim Fissette which many thought was a bad decision.
She turns the corner into the hardcourt season with joy that we did not see from her last year. That lightness could be the secret sauce to a North American winning streak that leads back to the US Open which she won in 2022.
There are so many ebbs and flows to a tennis player’s career, and Iga Swiatek is the latest example of that. It takes a lot of fortitude to keep training and forging ahead, but as Swiatek is showing, the rewards can be great. Iga Swiatek plays her first match in Montreal on Tuesday against the winner of the Yulia Putintseva and Hanyu Guo match. She will also be a guest on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast on Tuesday.
TOMORROW on Served- we’re joined by SIX TIME Grand Slam Champion @iga_swiatek 🙌
We’re talking about the obstacles, the mindset, the footwork—and yes, the pasta—that shaped her rise to the top. You don’t want to miss this one 🎾🎥 pic.twitter.com/spB0IVj5Sx
— Served with Andy Roddick (@Served_Podcast) July 28, 2025
