Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray created quite a buzz earlier this year when they decided to team up as a player and a coach. After having retired last year, Murray donned the coach’s hat for Djokovic during the Australian Open where the Serb had a decent semifinal finish. This was a major first in the tennis world, with such a pairing between two big rivals unheard of before. However, it looks like the tennis landscape is changing and Iga Swiatek is also longing for a dream pairing after seeing the Djokovic-Murray pair.

Swiatek is in Dubai where she is playing in the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. During an interview there, Swiatek was asked whom she would choose from her rivals to be her coach one day.

Talking about this, Swiatek said, “Petkovic is not playing anymore, but I heard she has a good eye. I always like her so we’ll get along but I don’t know, maybe Aryna, she’s older than me so maybe she would finish earlier.”

Andrea Petkovic is a former World Number 9 and retired from tennis back in 2022. However, she never faced Swiatek in her professional career but the latter was in awe of Petkovic’s game style and could explore future possibilities of teaming up with her if Petkovic takes to coaching.

On the other hand, Sabalenka could also be an option for Swiatek. Swiatek is three years younger than Sabalenka and the latter could potentially retire early than Swiatek. While Sabalenka is Swiatek’s biggest rival currently, she had some kind words for her recently.

Iga Swiatek praises her rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka

The two have been engaged in several memorable battles over the years. In the 12 matches played between them, Swiatek has come out on the top in eight of them whereas Sabalenka has 4 wins against Swiatek. During an interview recently, Swiatek was asked to comment on her rivalry with Sabalenka.

She said, “It’s nice to have such a great athlete as an opponent. We’re both pushing each other and we’re both creating some great entertainment sometimes when we’re playing against each other. I think we are something WTA has been kind of missing for a while because we have this great rivalry, and the fans are excited every time they see both of us. I think it’s great that we play tennis so well and just push each other, and that’s really helpful, for sure, in anybody’s career to have an opponent like that.”

Meanwhile, Swiatek is through to the quarterfinal of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. She will take on Mirra Andreeva in a pulsating round of 8 matchups in Dubai. The Pole would look to overcome the slow start to the season and make amends with good performances in Dubai. It’ll be interesting to see how she manages to dig deep in the tournament.