Iga Natalia Swiatek is a Polish professional tennis player. She is currently ranked as the world number 1 in women’s singles by the Women’s Tennis Association, having held the position for a total of 107 weeks. That is over 2 years!

She was born on 31 May 2001 in Warsaw Poland and is therefore only 23 years old.

Her favourite subject at school was Mathematics because, according to Iga, “Everything is logical and I don’t have to remember anything.” She goes on to explain: “I’m not good at remembering dates and stuff so I don’t like History. But in Mathematics you just have to know the way to solve a problem and then you can find the solutions.”

Both in the exam room and on court, Iga has a knack for making problem-solving look effortless. She scored almost full marks for Mathematics in her final schoolyear and says she applies it to her tennis tactics:  “I can see the Geometry of the court and I like using angles.”

So next time you are wondering why it is that you have to study Mathematics, remember that it can help you in all sorts of interesting ways!!!