Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka. Now it’s the turn of world number one and reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek as the latest top player searching for a new coach before the 2025 campaign begins, having announced her split from Tomasz Wiktorowski after three successful seasons together.
Swiatek’s success has been great, but she needs a change
AHEAD of the 2025 campaign, Iga Swiatek is the latest to embrace change as she’s announced having held “first talks” with prospective new coaches and will take a couple of weeks to start working with her next coaching appointment after a topsy-turvy season saw her US Open campaign end with a whimper after Olympic bronze in Paris and a Cincinnati semi-final loss by closest rival Aryna Sabalenka.
“After three years of the greatest achievements in my career, together with my coach Tomasz Wiktorowski we decided to part ways. I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating our work together, his experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I’ve never dreamed of, only a few months after we started.”
Swiatek has spent 123 weeks atop the WTA rankings across two stints, including now as she sits 1,000 points beyond Sabalenka, who clinched two of the four Major titles on offer in another unpredictable year – relentless schedule again being criticised.
Having cited personal matters as the reason for her withdrawal from the ongoing WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, China, the 23-year-old doesn’t feature in any player entry lists between now and the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh starting on November 4.
Poland play Spain in R1 of this year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals the week directly after the WTA Finals – Swiatek was perfect in the competition with a 5-0 record, then won the title outright – though has already confirmed she won’t feature.
Naturally disappointed with her hard-court performances this season, she suffered a three-set Australian Open defeat in round three by Linda Noskova and home hopeful Pegula beat her rather handedly in their quarter-final matchup at Flushing Meadows.
Two years ago, Swiatek embarked on a 37-match winning run – the longest streak by a woman this century – before Alize Cornet ended it at Wimbledon. As her teething problems on grass have remained well-documented, that impacts any perceived fear factor her peers would have when facing the world’s best player.
Her problem-solving abilities cannot be questioned, though an uncomfortable trend has followed her in recent months losing matches many wouldn’t expect, largely because she doesn’t start as fast nor maintain the same startling consistency levels during matches many became accustomed to during her earlier years on tour.
Whether she’ll be able to clean up those tendencies under a new lead voice remains to be seen, but it speaks to her self-awareness as someone keen to continue improving that she is willing to venture out of her comfort zone in trying to achieve even loftier heights, hiring a non-Polish coach after years of comfort in that regard.
Updated, October 5…
“Iga still wants to develop her game outside of clay and it hasn’t really happened in the last year or two. She’s looking for something different; an outside look, because at this level every percentage counts.
She needs a different pair of eyes and stimulations, was so one-dimensional and couldn’t adjust tactically at Wimbledon and the US Open, can definitely develop even more – learn when to pull back, when to go for it.”
- Former world no. 7-turned-analyst Barbara Schett gave her thoughts on Eurosport
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 