Earlier this month, we got to know that Iga Swiatek was separating from her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, with who she worked for three years. Under Wiktorowski’s coaching, the tennis player won four of her five Grand Slam titles and rose to the top of the women’s rankings. So it was not surprising when he was voted as the WTA’s Coach of the Year by his peers last year.

So when people got to know that Swiatek and Wiktorowski wouldn’t be working together through the player’s statement, they felt it was abrupt. Days later, the coach shared his thoughts on the split. “It was simply a necessity. We never made sudden and, above all, ill-considered decisions.”

Now the question stands: Who will Iga Swiatek’s next coach be?

There is no answer to this question. But in her statement, she mentioned, “I’m in the middle of first talks with coaches from abroad (non-Polish) because I’m ready to take the next step of my career. I will let you know when I make a decision.”

While she did not drop names, people speculated that Rafael Nadal and Martina Navratilova could be some names Iga Swiatek could have discussions with for the role of her coach. Amid the swirling speculation, renowned tennis commentator and co-host of the BreakPoint podcast, Marek Furjan, has weighed in with an interesting point.

Furjan engaged in an interaction in the Misja Sport program and deliberated on a wide range of aspects pertaining to Swiatek’s challenges.  Furjan said, “A mentor or mentore will not function without a coach. Many people write in the comments: oh, so since Rafa Nadal is ending his career, maybe he should become a coach – because of the similarities in their tennis. But it doesn’t look like that. There is no chance for such a coach. It has to be someone who perfectly knows the process of managing a tennis player, training, moments in the season.” [Translated by Google]

Nadal shared a video message on October 10 and announced that he would bid adieu to the tennis world after the end of the Davis Cup in November. Since then, the questions about his plans have been making rounds, with some suggesting that he might join Swiatek and help her overcome her challenges. However, this seems unlikely to Furjan. 

“Martina Navratilova is also mentioned, but she no longer functions as a coach. As another person in the team, but not as a coach who has to keep it all in check. I think it won’t be a spectacular name, that it won’t be someone who won 5-6-10 slams. Unless Iga bets on a duo. But a duo has to know each other, respect each other, and besides, it’s a financial burden.”

Marek Furjan also stated that Swiatek might go for a low-key coach. “So I don’t think Iga is heading towards a showman. She will be guided by her substantive competence. That is why I am not considering Brad Gilbert, who takes a lot of this media splendor with him. It is not her choice, also due to the age criterion. It is difficult for a young girl to build a partnership with someone from a completely different era. Besides, Iga’s entire team is “under 40″, but I could be wrong. It all depends on Iga.”

However, speculations about Rafael Nadal started as people knew Swiatek saw him as her idol. As soon as the World No. 1 qualified for the finals of the French Open, several people compared her to the legend. When asked about her opinion on this, she said, “I would never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa because for me he’s above everybody, and he’s a total legend.” And this admiration was witnessed even when Nadal announced his retirement.

When Iga Swiatek shared an emotional note for Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal’s retirement sent a shockwave to the entire tennis community. Several players and experts shared their sentiments revealing that Nadal’s retirement would leave a void in the arena. A similar reaction was witnessed from Iga Swiatek as well who shared what the player meant to her. 

Sharing a video for the legendary player, Swiatek said, “I wanted just to speak about my appreciation and what your career meant to me because you were and still are the biggest inspiration that I ever had in tennis.”

At just 23 years of age, Iga Swiatek has already clinched four Grand Slam titles, an impressive feat that reflects Nadal’s own accomplishments at the same age. The Pole revealed how Nadal has fueled the fire in her. “[Nadal is]The reason why sometimes I got extra motivated, I kept pushing myself,” she shared passionately.

While the star player is preparing to return to the WTA Finals to be held in Riyadh in November, it would be interesting to see how soon she comes out of her challenging period. Will she actually consider partnering with Nadal? Well, only time will tell.