After watching Warriors, Iga Swiatek says Steph Curry has her respect

Used to getting standing ovations in the biggest tennis stadiums in the world, Iga Swiatek admitted that she was taken by surprise by the rousing round of applause she received in another sporting area late last month, when she appeared on the jumbotron during a Golden State Warriors game.

"I loved watching this game," Swiatek told reporters in her pre-tournament press conference Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open, where she is the defending champion. "I was super grateful for the reception, because, I don't know, I wasn't really expecting that. It was amazing and I really appreciate that."

But as the Warriors' 119-101 win over the Charlotte Hornets, which Swiatek described first as "more like a 6-love, 6-love match," that "wasn't really super exciting 'tl the end," rolled on, the world No. 2 found herself commiserating with a more familiar target of Chase Center cheers, Warriors' sharp-shooter Steph Curry, on more than just fan appreciation.

Read more: Will Madison Keys and the top tier reassert themselves at Indian Wells?

"Watching Steph live was amazing, and, for sure, you can see the skills straightaway," Swiatek said. "I also thought about how it is for him when everybody just expects from him to have these three-point shots. I really, really respect how he manages that."

High expectations have come with the territory for the five-time Grand Slam champion in recent years, and she comes into the third WTA 1000 event of the season bidding to win it for the third time in the last four seasons. But 2025 is the first year she's arrived at Tennis Paradise without winning a title in the first two months since 2019, leaving Tennis Channel analyst Lindsay Davenport recently questioning whether the California desert would see Swiatek "flip the switch" and get back to her best after frustrating losses to Madison Keys (from match point up) in the Australian Open semifinals, and to Jelena Ostapenko and Mirra Andreeva in the Middle East.

Read more: Iga Swiatek blames WTA calendar for upsets after Mirra Andreeva Dubai defeat

“For whatever reason, she looks more stressed out on the court," Davenport said on a call with tennis media last week. "Whether that’s because the results haven’t been there or the change of coach, I don’t know, so I’m speculating. She just doesn’t look as calm or at ease on the court.”

After losing to Andreeva in the Dubai quarterfinals in straight sets, Swiatek took a chilled-out approach to preparing for Indian Wells, arriving in California on the penultimate Friday in February to "have a full week of practice before actually even focusing on a tournament."

"It was more for me and my game and me developing as a player," she said. "It was nice, because here you can really practice in a peaceful way and with no other distractions. I really enjoyed this."

Swiatek will kick off her title defense against former Top 10 player Caroline Garcia in the second round on Friday, and in a draw as loaded as Indian Wells', flipping the switch could result in the second seed quickly burning bright.

"I know that every swing is different," she said. "For example, two years ago in the Middle East I also got two walkovers. This year I didn't.

"There's no way to compare one year to the other, because that story can be totally different."