World No. 1 Iga Swiatek may be dominant on the tennis court, but she hasn't found that same success on the slopes.
While talking about her friendships with Olympic gold medalist skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, the 22-year-old Pole reflected on a traumatic time when she almost died skiing.
"Last time I skied was when I was seven and I had accident that I could have died so I really got scared," Swiatek said after her first round U.S. Open win on Monday. "I don't get scared that easily but this for sure stopped me."
Swiatek has been open about trying to be as versatile of a person as possible -- picking up skills beyond the tennis court. She has discussed her passion for music and guitar playing, as well.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
"They [Shiffrin and Vonn] are huge inspirations for me," she said. "I just feel like our sports are kind of connected… We kind of have similar experiences, especially I feel that when I hear all the interviews of Mikaela, I feel like we are kind of the same sometimes."
Swiatek and Shiffrin recently did an Instagram live together. They chatted about different topics, including their admiration for one another, being at the top of their sports, and their respective charity work. The conversation concluded with the two agreeing to get on the tennis court together.
"It's just nice to have somebody you can look up to, and that shares the same experiences that you can learn from," Swiatek said. "I'm happy that they are also so open to talk about everything."
Swiatek dispatched Sweden's Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour in her opening match in New York.
Swiatek, who has held the world No. 1 ranking since April 2022, will face Australia's Daria Gavrilova in the second round of the U.S. Open.
