Iga Swiatek is binging Modern Family as she storms through US Open swing

NEW YORK—Iga Swiatek has enjoyed a breezy start to her 2024 US Open campaign, and the former champion is taking that lighter approach to the off days she spends in the city.

“I'm staying in a different part of the city, and I'm enjoying some restaurants. I'm doing some Legos,” she said after easing past No. 25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, her third straight-set win of the fortnight.

“I was watching Modern Family for past few weeks but I was watching it too much in Cincinnati, probably, so I have to balance it,” the top seed added, revealing a surprising affinity for the juggernaut U.S. sitcom that ran 11 seasons from 2009 to 2010.

Players often cite long-running series like Grey’s Anatomy as their current binge, and it makes sense they would choose something with enough episodes to simplify their off-court routine and have something reliable in front of which to unplug.

But there was something fascinating about world No. 1 Iga Swiatek first discovering and then obsessively consuming this progressive-presenting but largely anodyne comedy, one of the last bastions of the American monoculture.

Who in her universe told her about it? Had she been fed clips from Tik Tok and, drawn in by the siren song of Sofia Vergara’s inimitable accent, dive down a rabbit hole courtesy of Poland’s Apple TV (where it appears to be streaming)?

Quite simply, Reader, I had to know more.

“Who recommended Modern Family?” Swiatek repeated back to me, almost as confused as I was. “I'm not sure, honestly. I think I just started watching it because I wanted something light. It was funny.

Ok, but from this cast of dozens, who is her favorite character?

“It changes every season, so I can't really say. It was easier with Friends than with Modern Family.

“I think Manny, for me, is the funniest one, yeah,” she said after a pause.

Friends is a far more familiar part of the tennis player’s pop culture diet, even as the show has been off the air for about as long as Coco Gauff has been alive.

Asked her favorite “Friend,” Swiatek hedged between two of the leads.

“When I first watched it, it was Phoebe,” she said. “When I watched this for a second time, Monica.”

With rival Mirra Andreeva preferring Joey and Chandler, they only need to find a Rachel-Ross shipper on tour and the three of them can start a podcast.

Swiatek smiled as the English phase of post-match press ended, glad to leave her heavier thoughts on the court as she attempts to take home a second US Open trophy in three years.

After her next off day, she will return to action on Labor Day to play No. 16 seed Liudmila Samsonova for a spot in the quarterfinals.