The Polish, Iga Swiatek, was proclaimed champion of the WTA 500 in Stuttgart after beating Aryna Sabalenka by 6-3 6-4. In this way, the number 1 in the world revalidated the title obtained last year against a number 2 like the Belarusian. What did Swiatek do after winning his 13th title? Well, he dedicated himself to celebrating the World day of the book (April 23) with the aim of promoting reading. In addition, in January of this year, the Polish woman launched a project called “Read with Iga”, with which she intended to encourage her followers to read at least 12 books this 2023 and share their reflections with her. Thus, after celebrating her title in Stuttgart, Swiatek spoke with the WTA about her passion for reading, as well as commenting on her expectations for Madrid.
“I probably discovered my love of reading when I was 17 years old. It just made me feel less alone in the world. It was fun the combination of having a good time and getting to know the people you read about. It’s more like you feel like they’re your friends.”
Love by Ken Follet
“When I read the two Ken Follett trilogies, it was something else. I really liked it a lot. They were so thick that before reading them I didn’t know that you could read this type of book so fast. For one, they’re a bit heavy, but I read them so quickly and they were so interesting that I just enjoyed them more. I read them when I was 17 years old. But it’s hard for me to choose a moment because I always read. I always enjoyed having that time to myself.”
He launched a book club in January. How’s the reading going?
“Yesterday I finished reading the biography of Matthew Perry. Right now I want to try biographies, so I’ll read about Leonardo da Vinci now.
But I don’t know what I’m going to choose for the reading challenge because I want to choose something that people really enjoy and that is easy for someone who works every day to read. They don’t have time to read as much as I do. I travel, I try to kill time before games, so I am aware that not many people are so lucky. And I want to pick something that will convince them to read more instead of watching TV.”
Purpose of reading?
“My goal is to have fun reading. Reading about people who can inspire you a bit and also gain more knowledge about the world.
Although it depends because I would say that it is more difficult to convince older people. If they’re reading, they obviously know what they like and it’s hard to give them something new. And they read a lot, so they know a lot more about books than I do. So I’m trying to convince people my age or younger because this is the age you can start reading and read until the end of your life. And I think, in the modern world, these people are the ones who need it the most.”
Paper or digital book?
“I like to go to bookstores and see all the books and smell them. But in terms of purchasing, I want to be green. So I’m torn between having all these books and enjoying them, and on the other hand, I know they’re going to sit on my shelf for a few years and nobody’s going to read them but me.”
About the Mutua Madrid Open, where he hasn’t won yet…
“Madrid is complicated with the altitude, so I’ll see. I’ve only played twice at height. I may be world number 1, but I don’t have as much tennis experience as you might expect. So I’m just going to see. My coach is a man with a lot of knowledge. So I’m sure he’ll help me handle it properly and get used to the conditions faster than in 2021. I just want to see how quickly I can get used to it. I really like the tournament in terms of conditions and food. I’m going to eat some octopus for sure.”
2023-04-24 11:32:23
#Reading #feel #world
