Iga Świątek started the season in great style on Monday. In the first United Cup match, she did not give any chance to Malene Helgo (404th WTA). In just over an hour, she won 6:1, 6:0 and gave the Poles the lead against Norway. Unfortunately, the rivals equalized soon after, because Hubert Hurkacz (16th ATP) lost to Casper Ruud (6th ATP). Fortunately, Świątek stepped in again at the decisive moment. Together with Jan Zieliński, she defeated the Norwegian mixed team Eikeri/Ruud 6:3, 0:6, 10:8 and ensured Poland's victory. A rather unusual guest brought her happiness.
This has never happened before. Świątek was playing a match and all eyes were on… the flamingo
During the meeting with Helgo, the cameras caught a pink inflatable flamingo placed in a place of honor in our team's box. Whenever Świątek went for a break, she immediately appeared next to him. – She liked the inflatable flamingo so much that Iga Światek bought it front row tickets to her match – joked the administrators of the Tennis TV profile on the X platform.
Our best tennis player in the company of a flamingo was seen not for the first time. On Sunday, our whole team spent time at the swimming pool. They took the mentioned gadget with them to the water, and Świątek really liked it. Photos of him swimming on it immediately appeared on social media. Although some fans were quite critical of the photothe Pole decided to use the inflatable once again and took it to the match.
Świątek regularly brings similar, although slightly smaller, toys to the court. In November, during the WTA Finals in Riyadh, she was spotted with a Donald Duck keychain attached to her bag. Then the keychain did not bring luck. The Pole lost 3:6, 4:6, which in the context of the remaining results meant that she did not advance to the semi-finals.
You will have to wait until the New Year for the next match with Iga Świątek. On January 1, her match with Karolina Muchová (22nd WTA) will take place as part of the second group match between Poles and the Czech national team.