Swiatek quite happy to give social media a wide berth

Iga Swiatek has revealed her habit of turning off social media during tournaments and just going about her business on court.

The world No. 1 will step onto the clay at this week’s WTA Stuttgart event as she enters the run-up to Roland Garros.

But the 22-year-old is taking life on her terms when it comes to dealing with the outside pressures o a constant barrage of often-destructive social media.

Her personal solution? Just shut it down.

“It’s pretty easy for me to cut out all this social media stuff. During tournaments, I try not to watch too much,” she said in the German car-making capital.

“At first I had to force myself to do it – now I feel comfortable. 

“There are a lot of things that I don’t understand on the Internet, that are weird and that aren’t true, so it’s best to stay out of it.”

Swiatek will start her clay campaign against Belgian Elise Mertens; but with three French Open titles, the Pole will have muscle memory on the surface.

Swiatek said that she sometimes find the negativity of social a bit too much.

“(It hurts you)  when you know you’ve done the best you can and people keep criticising you. 

“They don’t know the whole truth, what also happens off the court, Sometimes it’s not easy. 

“I understand how the world works and I don’t expect it to change, but it would be nice if people remembered that we are still people, that it is not possible to win every tournament.”