Iga Swiatek has become used to rubbing shoulders with celebrities in two years at the top of women's tennis, and if Hollywood A-lister Zendaya needs work with her game, the four-time Grand Slam champion will be happy to help.
Zendaya and boyfriend and fellow actor Tom Holland were among the crowd Sunday as Poland's Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 to win the prestigious Indian Wells WTA title for the second time.
The rematch of the 2022 championship showdown produced an almost identical outcome, as four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek dominated the second set to seize her 19th career title and her second of 2024.
Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, battled gamely through the opening set, erasing a break and saving two break points in the final game before Swiatek delivered a blistering forehand winner to pocket the set after 44 minutes.
It would take just 24 more minutes for the Polish star to wrap things up. She broke Sakkari at love for a 2-0 lead and rolled to the finish.
After the match, Zendaya posed with Swiatek and her trophy.
"For sure, meeting Zendaya was crazy, but on the other hand, she's a human like all of us," Swiatek said of the "Dune" star, who is also the star of the forthcoming tennis-themed "Challengers" movie.
In the film, Zendaya plays a former tennis prodigy turned coach whose tennis champion husband is in a slump.
"I was just happy that she's enjoying tennis and she's, you know, having this movie with a tennis theme coming out," Swiatek said.
"So that should be really exciting. She can practice with me any time if she wants to."
While Swiatek sounded far from star-struck, she said she was pleased to get a chance to meet the actress.
"For sure it was fun and she's a really great person," Swiatek said. "I feel pretty privileged that I'm in this place where I can meet these kind of people."
AFP