How the Wicked film converted Swiftie Iga Swiatek into an Arianator

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Iga Swiatek was on a flight to Montréal when she first considered holding space for “Defying Gravity.”

The former world No. 1 has become charmingly obsessed with 2024’s Wicked: Part I, posing like Glinda and Elphaba with physio Maciej Ryszczuk and confessing the songs have been stuck in her head throughout the US Open swing.

“This is going to be the longest answer!” Swiatek joked in the middle of gushing about the film during her Cincinnati Open press conference on Saturday.

**Rewatch Iga Swiatek's opening round at the Cincinnati Open on the Tennis Channel App!**

Swiatek came away from the John M. Chu film adaptation of the 2003 Broadway musical with new admiration for stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, explaining her long-documented Taylor Swift fandom previously kept her from properly stanning the former.

The songs were amazing. You can listen to them every day. Some are pop, some are less pop but more like, operatic…I got addicted to listening to the soundtrack. Now, I had to stop because I was singing the songs in my head, like all the time, even too much! Iga Swiatek on Wicked (2024)

“I was always a Swiftie, so when Taylor was big in 2014, 2016, Ariana [Grande] also was big but I was kind of comparing them and I liked Taylor more. So, I didn’t really listen to Ariana and I didn’t really care that much,” she explained.

“But then, on Wicked, when I saw what she did to perform that well and how she raised her voice to reach a range she wasn’t able to reach before, and how she performed overall: danced, acted. I didn’t know she could do that. Probably people who were already interested in her knew about it, but I was just shocked. I got huge amounts of respect.”

The reigning Wimbledon champion went on to praise the film and its soundtrack, confessing it was on repeat throughout her time at the Omnium Banque Nationale.

“The songs were amazing. You can listen to them every day. Some are pop, some are less pop but more like, operatic… I also loved the tribute to the original Broadway show with Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. It was just amazing, and I loved it. I got addicted to listening to the soundtrack. Now, I had to stop because I was singing the songs in my head, like all the time, even too much!”

A press conference that had begun about her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Anastasia Potapova had suddenly gone all pink and green.

“Do you have any more questions about Wicked?” Swiatek asked, eager to keep the conversation going.

I don’t watch things that are popular at the moment. I don’t know why. The whole world is talking about them and I’m like, ‘Whatever.’ And then suddenly, after a couple of months… Iga Swiatek on her delayed pop culture consumption

Asked to rank her favorites, Swiatek shortlisted ‘The Wizard and I’— “It was like, the first one that I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is getting to another level’—‘Popular,’ ‘One Short Day,’ and, of course, the iconic ‘Defying Gravity.’

“All of them are amazing,” she clarified, “and you can’t choose because they have totally different vibes.”

With a trip to New York looming in the next two weeks, Swiatek is unsure of whether she’ll see it on Broadway, where it has played at the Gershwin Theater for 22 years.

“I should wait for the second part of the movie or go watch the Broadway show,” she reasoned, noting the film version ends on a cliff-hanger. “Usually, when I read a book, for example, I don’t want to watch the movie first because I don’t want to ruin the visual image of the book that I have in my head. It’s kind of the same right now.

“I think I’m going to wait until November and then for sure the show will still be on next year. So, I’ll watch the show then.”

In the meantime, Swiatek may seek to fill in some other outstanding pop culture blind spots like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos.

“I don’t watch things that are popular at the moment,” Swiatek said. “I don’t know why. The whole world is talking about them and I’m like, ‘Whatever.’ And then suddenly, after a couple of months…”

With such strong form and good vibes to kick off her one short week in Queen City, it’s unclear who in the field is going to bring her down.