Iga Swiatek is set for her comeback from injury at the Stuttgart Open on Thursday and she expects to be a little rusty, but there was no rustiness when she tackled the Porsche Driving Challenge.
The world No 1’s last match was a semi-final defeat at the Indian Wells Open in mid-March as she was unable to defend her Miami Open trophy due to a rib injury and also skipped Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers over the weekend.
“I have still been working out physically a little bit and obviously coming back to practicing step by step. Here I am and I think I’m ready.”
The Pole had a bye in the first round and she will open her campaign against Zheng Qinwen, who has proven to be a difficult opponent in the past as she took a set off the world No 1 at both the French Open and in San Diego last year.
Before her return to action on Thursday, Swiatek took part in the famous Porsche Driving Challenge and she nailed it as she completed the circuit in 1:16s to head straight to the top of charts, but Iga being Iga she wanted to give it another go to improve her time, which she did.
However, she will be back in action in Stuttgart and has no concerns over her injury.
“I’m not injured anymore, so that’s the most important thing for me,” the three-time Grand Slam winner said. “I feel like I used that time in Warsaw well to rest a little bit and to not think about tennis.
Back to Thursday’s match against Zheng and Swiatek is not getting too far ahead of herself after such a long time out.
“It’s the first tournament on clay, so for sure I would love to play well, but I also know that I might be a little bit rusty because coming back from injury it’s always a little bit like that,” the 21-year-old said.
“So I’m keeping my expectations low, but for sure I want to play the best tennis possible.”
