Iga Swiatek meets first scholarship winners from namesake foundation

One of Poland's most recgonizable athletes, Iga Swiatek took a leap forward in shoring up the future of sport in her country by awarding five scholarships to young Polish talents through her eponymous charity foundation this week.

Swiatek launched the Iga Swiatek Foundation this summer, and announced in September that it would be awarding grants of nearly half a million Polish zloty (about $140,000) to help up to five athletes ages 15 to 22 to "pursue their passions and consciously build healthy, sustainable careers."

The scholarship winners were Ignacy Andrzejczak (under-20 champion in hurdling), Wiktor Chmurski (member of the Polish junior national swim team), Liwia Kubin (multiple medalist in junior and senior speed skating), Jan Pyla (member of Poland's junior national golf team) and Oliwia Sybicka (the top-ranked under-16 tennis player in Poland).

The group will receive funding for 12 months beginning in January, and also be supported by Swiatek's personal team of advisors: physiotherapist Maciej Ryszczuk, sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, orthopedic doctor Mateusz Dawidziuk, partnership manager Alina Sikora, and public relations and communications manager Daria Sulgostowska.

"I wanted to create a program that really helps talented athletes on their way," Swiatek said according to the WTA website, after meeting the winners at Warsaw's Hotel Verte. "I wanted it to be not only financial support, but also access to knowledge and experts. I know from my own experience how important both of these elements are, both at the beginning of a career and throughout it."

As she presented the scholarships to the winners this week, the six-time Grand Slam champion spoke about why she started her foundation, the goals of her scholarship program, and how the athletes were chosen. The winners also took part in panel discussions with Swiatek's team, focusing on "the importance of taking a holistic approach to athletic development, how to effectively work with sponsors, and image building."

The 24-year-old's advisors know firsthand what it takes to build an athlete's brand, as evidenced by Swiatek's on- and off-court endorsement portfolio in 2025. She was the third-highest paid female athlete in the world last year according to both Sportico and Forbes, behind Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka.