Will Iga Świątek win Poland’s first Olympic tennis medal? The legend says it straight

It should be noted that Katarzyna Nowak is the first Polish tennis player in the history of Poland to play at the Olympic Games. The former player from Łódź is a true pioneer of professional tennis in Poland.

Nowak was also the first to advance to the top 50 of the WTA world rankings, which was a huge feat for the 1990s, in Poland, which was in crisis after the transformation. Interestingly, in Grand Slam tournaments, Nowak achieved her best results on the Roland Garros courts. In Paris, the Polish tennis player reached the third round in 1995. She therefore knows the realities in which the 2024 Olympic Games will be played well.

Katarzyna Nowak, after ending her career, became a valued commentator, analyst of tennis tournaments, on Polsat Sport, for almost two decades. Regularly sharing her professional knowledge in other media until now.

Paris 2024: Iga Świątek and the chances of the Polish team through the eyes of Katarzyna Nowak

The 1992 Barcelona Games are not only over three decades ago, looking at the calendar. They are also completely different realities, especially in Poland, in which we had to function at that time. The Polish Olympic Committee was surprised by the Olympic advancement that was won and until the very end it was not known what would happen with the financing of Katarzyna Nowak’s participation. There was money, but for other disciplines.

PZT, on the other hand, thought more about how to make ends meet than about medals in tennis. Finally, the father of a player from Łódź, with private money, flew out as a guardian of the Olympic tennis team. At that time, one of the few positives and great pride was the eagle in a crown on the Olympic jerseys.

The history of those times and the hardships of Polish tennis – actually measured in units such as Katarzyna Nowak – the only singles Olympian, is material for a longer story. To which we will probably return in time, showing how much it cost – literally and figuratively – the player herself to travel and fulfill her Olympic dream.

The development opportunities for Polish tennis players are currently enormous. Both finances, sponsors and infrastructure are world-class. Apart from that, the ordinary prose of life, everyone has and can have a passport, and we can travel to many countries only with an identity card. In the case of our first tennis Olympian, her passport was held by the government at the time.

After 32 years, however, the reality has changed so much in Poland that fans can and should count on the 2024 Olympics in Paris not only for a medal, but preferably a medal made of the most valuable gold metal. It is to be won by Iga Świątek, the leader of the WTA rankings, whose time at the top of the tennis world has already exceeded 100 weeks a good while ago.

– We have the number 1 in the world, so it would be strange not to count on a medal. Everyone knows that Iga feels best on the ground. And she says it herself. It would be hard to imagine more favorable conditions. She will be playing in a place she knows very well from her great successes. Nevertheless, you can’t underestimate anyone. Judging by the appearance of the tournament bracket for the Olympics, the side with the leader of the WTA ranking is more difficult, looking at the names. We have Collins, Ostapenko and Noskova, with whom Świątek also doesn’t like to play. The Czech is not very good for the Pole, but we are mainly talking about the realities of playing on hard courts. In this part of the Olympic tournament bracket, there are many tennis players who prefer really strong shots. Looking for winners, dynamic, finishing plays – assesses former Olympian Katarzyna Nowak.

It is worth adding that on Thursday afternoon (i.e. July 25), just before the start of the Olympic tournament, Jelena Rybakina withdrew from the tournament. She was also on Świątek’s side of the bracket. The lack of a Kazakh in the perspective of playing in the semifinals is good news for the Pole. Although there is still no shortage of good tennis players to beat. It seems to be led by Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian won four matches against Świątek… all four.

– However, the most important thing in the game on clay is consistency. Iga has the greatest one. Besides, if Świątek has such an advantage in the ranking, in recent years she has dominated on the Roland Garros courts, then it is hard for me to talk now about concerns about any of the opponents that the Polish player may have in Paris. Iga is a big favorite, I cannot imagine any other approach – admits Nowak.

It should be added that Ostapenko won the tournament at Roland Garros in 2017. However, Świątek has four Grand Slam titles in the French capital, from 2020, 2022, 2023 and the last one, from 2024, won a few months ago. She also presents a style that is most suited to playing on clay courts.

Difficult draw for Magda Linette, chance for Magdalena Fręch

In singles, in addition to Świątek, two other Polish women will also compete at the games. As it happens, both of them, on the last stretch before the Olympic challenge, advanced to the final of the WTA 250 tournament in Prague. Ultimately, the Poznań woman won.

The more experienced Magda Linette will play Mirra Andreyeva in the first round in Paris. A 17-year-old extremely talented tennis player who played in this year’s RG semi-final, and during the UniCredit Iasi Open in Romania (at the same time as the Prague competition), advanced to her first WTA final in her life.

– Few people like to play with much younger, very talented players on the other side of the net. With media publicity as a great talent, etc. I like Mirra Andreyeva’s style and personality. I remember their last match in Madrid last year, in which Magda lost, but she was very tense. She wasn’t herself. Then you can’t present the level that the Pole is known for. At that time, a year ago, Andreyeva didn’t have as much pressure on herself as she does now. In Paris, she will play as a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, there will be no such ease as before, and instead there will be expectations. That’s why I assume it will be a nervous match on both sides. I have the impression that a lot will depend on the mental sphere – admits Katarzyna Nowak, the first Olympian in the history of Polish tennis.

The third Polish singles player is Magdalena Fręch. In the case of the Łódź player, the first round match in Paris will be against Wiktoria Tomowa. The Bulgarian may have a small “Polish hiccup” because she failed her last test before the 2024 Olympics, losing to Linette in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

– I bet 50/50 on the match between Fręch and Tomowa. Neither of these tennis players has any clear advantage that could already make them the favorite. I mean a strong serve, a “shot” with any of the strokes. Both will rather wait, Fręch is known for her incredible throw, fighting to the end, and determination. This is definitely a big chance for the Pole, such a match with the Bulgarian. After all, it could have been much worse, for example, a welcome clash with Iga Świątek Golf, Krejcikova or Jasmine Paolini – noted the Olympian from the 1992 Games.

As a matter of record, in the first round in Paris, Świątek will play Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. A solid Romanian doubles player, who is however ranked a very distant 134th in the WTA singles ranking. There will therefore be only one favorite in this match.

What will this year’s Olympic tournament in Paris be like?

– Looking at what has been happening for a long time, at the number of top players withdrawing for various reasons, I estimate that the tournament will not be as exciting as if everyone were present. Please note that two of the top five best tennis players in the world will be missing: Sabalenka and Rybakina. From the second ten of the WTA ranking, as many as seven players will be missing. In total, out of the top 20 names, we do not have nine of them present – almost half. In the men’s top 10, as many as seven are missing, including number 1, the leader of the ranking, Jannik Sinner – adds Nowak.

The legendary Steffi Graf and the unattainable Golden Slam

Perhaps not everyone knows, but tennis has been part of the Olympic competition since the first games, i.e. 1986 (Athens). However, it disappeared after the event in Paris (1924) and returned only at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. The first gold after the return was won by Steffi Graf.

The German is one of the most outstanding tennis players in the history of world tennis. Graf is the only player in history to have won the so-called Golden Slam, meaning that a German woman has won all four Grand Slam tournaments, and additionally added a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

– Steffi Graf’s feat will be incredibly difficult to repeat. It may happen that no tennis player in the future will ever achieve it – emphasizes Katarzyna Nowak.

Since then, various competitors have become Olympic champions, and in recent years there has been no shortage of sensational decisions. Consider the last two cases. In Rio De Janeiro (2016), Monica Puig from Puerto Rico won among singles. At the Tokyo Games (2021), however, Belinda Bencic was the best. A Swiss woman who was not and is not a competitor from the strict, world top.

Hubert Hurkacz’s injury and injustice to Jan Zieliński

We will not see Hubert Hurkacz and Jan Zieliński in the Olympic version in Paris. The best Polish singles player lost the battle against time, or more precisely against the injury he suffered during this year’s Wimbledon. Until the last few days, a solution was sought so that the Pole could fight at the 2024 Olympics. In the end, common sense won.

– I wouldn’t like to judge this from a distance, I’m not close to the team. Let’s wait and see what time will tell. When the Pole will return to playing – admitted the Olympian from Barcelona.

Hurkacz’s absence turned out to be synonymous with the aforementioned Zieliński’s absence. The tennis player from Warsaw won two Grand Slam tournaments this year, in mixed doubles, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. At the Paris Olympics, Zieliński was supposed to play in doubles with Hurkacz. The injury of the Wrocław player still opened up a shadow of a chance for a Zieliński/Świątek mixed doubles, but due to the low ranking, this solution also fell through.

– It’s a great pity for Janek Zieliński. I appreciate what this tennis player does. He is a very nice, modest man. I can imagine how he feels now, when such an Olympic chance has passed him by. Sure, Janek will certainly talk about Hubert’s health being the most important thing, wishing him a full recovery. Zieliński will not complain about his fate. But it is known that the two-time winner of this year’s Grand Slam tournaments had his own ambitions to start at the Olympics in Paris. It didn’t work out, unfortunately that’s life – concluded the former leading Polish tennis player and representative.

Paris 2024: When are the Olympic games?

It is worth noting that the matches of the Olympic tournament in Paris will be played on the Roland Garros courts. Exactly the same ones that are used for the Grand Slam matches, both among women and men. The Olympic tennis competition will begin on July 27 (i.e. Saturday) and will last a little over a week, ending on August 4 (i.e. Sunday).