Iga the speech-maker at Rafa’s training turf

Iga Swiatek

Recently crowned French Open champion Iga Swiatek shed her tennis attire for a formal outfit as she delivered the keynote speech at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, on Wednesday.

The World No. 1 was invited as guest of honour and addressed 49 young students and players, who graduated at the ceremony that marked the end of their academic studies at the Rafa Nadal International School.

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Swiatek fittingly paid tribute to her idol, Nadal, a 22-time major champion. She told the young students that her admiration for Nadal kept growing the more she watched his matches, particularly at those times when he was not necessarily playing at his best, but still fought hard.

"Those are the matches that inspired me," she said, going on to add: "For the last few weeks, I've been looking at one quote at Roland Garros. On Court Philippe-Chatrier it's written, ‘Victory belongs to the most tenacious'. So, I hope you will be tenacious."