Very few children are able to match the achievements of their Olympian parent, and even less manage to surpass them.
When an athlete has followed in the footsteps of their role model relative, and then become the dominant force in their sport aged just 22, it is hard not to take notice.
This is what makes Iga Swiatek’s story so impressive, in a fortnight which has seen the Polish sensation assert herself as the face of women’s tennis.
With four Grand Slam titles to her name already, including three French Open crowns, Swiatek recently celebrated her 100th week as the number one ranked female player in the world.
Shortly before this, her superstar status was confirmed when she became the first sportsperson to sign a worldwide ambassadorship with the beauty company Lancome.
The endorsement is set to boost the Pole’s already healthy finances, who topped Forbes’s 2023 sporting female rich list, with £11.2million in sponsorship deals boosting her £7.9million in prize money.
And while Swiatek has arguably become the most talked about name in her own sport, there was a time where she lived in the shadow of another hugely successful athlete in her family.
Her father, Tomasz, is a former Olympic rower, who represented Poland in the men’s quadruple sculls at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The 22-year-old also faced a battle to outshine her older sister, Agata, who competed on the ITF junior circuit of tennis, before giving up the sport due to injury.
And their father has credited the sibling rivalry for developing his youngest daughter into the driven competitor she is today.
In an interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolitalast last year, Tomasz said of Swiatek: “She was always a kid who wanted to compete.
“First with her older sister, then with rivals on the court. As a ten-year-old, she urged, ‘Let’s go to a tournament for older girls, because we’ve already beaten everyone here.’
“She was always looking for new challenges.”
Swiatek herself has admitted she was never likely to follow her father into rowing, telling Ausopen.com in 2020: “I was scared of the water so tennis was much better for me.”
But her competitive nature meant that she was always destined for the very top of the sport, winning her first Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2020.
The Warsaw native followed this up by becoming the second Olympian in her family when she donned Poland’s colours for the rescheduled Tokyo Games in 2021.
Despite suffering a disappointing second round defeat to Paula Badosa, the world number one revealed that she is more optimistic of her medal chances at this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Speaking to Eurosport in December, she said of her last Games: “For sure the pressure was huge, I mean, you could see after I lost against Paula, I cried, it was a big fuss.
Swiatek’s father has described her as a fierce competitor despite her friendly demeanour off the courtCredit: Getty
Swiatek discussed the upcoming event, set to take place at Roland-Garros: “This time it’s going to be a little bit different. I’m going to know the venue. It’s going to be on my favourite surface.
“On the other hand, these also bring up more expectations from the outside.”
The current French Open champion’s ability to deliver on expectations has served her well so far, and she will be hoping for further success in what promises to be an exciting summer.
The Pole will look to defend her Roland Garros crown in May, before aiming for a best ever finish at Wimbledon little over a month later, where she is yet to progress beyond the quarter final stage.
And Swiatek will then target history in Paris, as she bids to become Poland’s first ever Olympic medallist in tennis, as well as surpassing her own father in Games appearances.
