After the performance of world no.1 Iga Swiatek at the Wimbledon and the US Open, Barbara Schett, an expert from Eurosport and former tennis player, admitted that the athlete should have a complete overhaul and has said that she “needs a different pair of eyes”.
The expert stated that Swiatek has the right to concentrate on honing her capabilities away from her favored surface, which is clay. She said: “Iga Swiatek might be No. 1 in the world, but she still wants to develop her game outside of clay, [for example] on grass and hard…. She is looking for something different; an outside look, because at this level every percentage counts.”
She added: “I am not surprised she is searching for somebody from abroad and not from Poland. She needs a different pair of eyes and different stimulations. I was really disappointed with the way she played at Wimbledon and at the US Open, where she was so one-dimensional and could not adjust tactically… She was going for it but not really seeking solutions. She definitely can develop her game even more and learn when to pull back and when to go for it.”
Recently, Swiatek parted ways with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. In their three years of working with each other, the athlete won four Grand Slam titles and rose to the top of the global rankings.
Even though she was the top seed at both the US Open and Wimbledon, her playing soured towards the end of the year, and she exited both events. She also only got bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing in the semi-finals against Zheng Qinwen.
Source: Eurosport