Wednesday's Tennis Plays for Peace exhibition at the 2022 US Open was a memorable experience for all involved—including world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
In one of five exhibition sets played inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, Swiatek played mixed doubles with her longtime idol and inspiration, Rafael Nadal.
Less than 48 hours later, Swiatek reflected on the "amazing" experience at US Open Media Day.
"Once in a lifetime experience," said Swiatek. "We already [practiced] singles [together at] Roland Garros two years ago. I wouldn't even imagine as a kid, like, playing next to him and being in the same team."
Since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago, Poland's Swiatek has been vocal about the situation in her neighboring country.
She encouraged Ukrainians to stay strong in a poignant moment after winning her second Roland Garros title this spring, and before participating in the US Open fundraiser, raised an additional 500,000 euros for displaced Ukrainian children and refugees with an July exhibition event in Krakow.
Wednesday's US Open event added to that total in support of Tennis Plays for Peace: In all, America's Grand Slam event expects to exceed $1.2 million raised in support of Ukraine over its three weeks of tennis.
"The whole event was really great. I'm pretty happy that we were able to raise such an amount of money," Swiatek added. "All the people who were involved in making it, they give a good example. Pretty happy that I could participate in that and continue what I started back in February when I started talking about the war.
"It's great that we athletes can just have this kind of impact and also, give [an] example, attract people to come and give money for charities. That's great."
