NEW YORK (Reuters) -Six-times major winner Iga Swiatek got another reason to cheer after her U.S. Open first-round win on Tuesday, as the avowed "Swiftie" lifted her phone to discover her pop idol Taylor Swift met her match.
The music mega-star announced she was engaged to NFL tight end Travis Kelce on Tuesday, after years of well-publicised heartache that proved golden material for her array of platinum records.
The Polish player Swiatek said she saw the news as soon as Swift posted it and walked into her press conference texting friends to spread the word.
"She posted when I finished," said Swiatek. "Maybe that's not a coincidence."
Swift and Kelce, whose announcement earned more than 18 million Instagram likes, headlined the A-listers in the crowd at the men's final last year, where Jannik Sinner ensured a "cruel summer" for another Taylor - Fritz - in a three-set defeat.
Their enduring appeal across Flushing Meadows was clear as broadcaster and retired player Mary Carillo interrupted her commentary of world number one Sinner's first round match to announce the news: "Taylor Swift is engaged!"
Her baffled co-anchor, the retired four-time major winner Jim Courier, responded dryly: "With, like, a new record?"
The word spread around the sun-drenched plaza to the ESPN desk, where reporters grilled the 2022 champion Swiatek for her reaction, following her round-one win over Colombia's Emiliana Arango.
The second-ranked Swiatek then spent nearly half her post-match press conference fielding questions on the celebrity news.
"Well, I'm just happy for her, because she deserves the best," said Swiatek. "Obviously she had a lot of boyfriends, so we know all about that. So hopefully this one will, you know, stick forever. Travis seems like a great guy."
Asked if she would field a "non-Taylor question," Swiatek deadpanned: "No."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by Frank PingueEditing by Toby Davis)
