Iga Swiatek bid farewell to coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, as she seeks to elevate her career to the next level. As she prepares to work alongside her new coach Wim Fissette, echoes of her past still linger. Although both Iga and Tomasz have denied any bad blood between them, a lot of theories are in the air, one of them being Iga’s Psychologist Daria Abramowicz’s role in the split. But Lech Sidor, tennis coach and Eurosport commentator has a different take on it, drawing parallels with Wiktorowski’s previous split with former World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwańska.

Previously coaching Polish sensation Radwańska from 2011 to 2018, Tomasz Wiktorowski, joined Iga Swiatek’s squad in 2021 at a critical juncture in her career. He joined Swiatek to help her hone her talents and strategy after Swiatek realized she needed a new approach to her game. She developed significantly under his tutelage, winning 4 of her 5 Grand Slams under Wiktorowski and 19 of her 22 career titles. She also reached world No. 1 shortly after Wiktorowski was hired and reeled off the longest winning streak on the WTA Tour this century. While all these look splendid, according to Sidor, all these might have taken a toll on the coach.

“There remains the issue of professional burnout. Even Iga herself said that now it’s time for a coach to rest, that he deserves a long vacation, etc.,” Sidor reminded in the Eurosport Podcast, as reported by Sport.pl. For context, in her parting post with the coach, Iga had written, “I know that the coach wants to spend some time with his loved ones and rest after these intense years. Few people deserve at least a few months of vacation.” To support his claim, Sidor drew a parallel with Wiktorowski’s time with Radwańska.

Sidor argued, “Let’s remember that after breaking up with Radwańska, it also seemed that he was a bit fed up with this world, because not everyone knows that it only looks so good on TV. However, in real life, it is terrible torture.”

“I am able to get into Wiktorowski’s skin and he could really say at some point that he was heartily fed up. Because it is a terribly monotonous regime. It is the courts, the hotel, the hotel, the courts… It only seems to people that this is a beautiful life,” he further added.

Sidor also mentioned that he did not expect Wiktorowski to take a new job anytime soon, even with Hubert Hurkacz, who is still looking for a coach after parting ways with Craig Boynton. “The coach is under a lot of stress. I think it’s obvious to everyone. When he started working with Radwańska, Wiktorowski was brunette, when he finished, he was grizzled. When he started with Świątek, he was grizzled, and when he finished, he’s as grey as a dove. This is also proof that this is a job that really strains your nerves,” Sidor said, indicating the stress.

Sidor’s comments about Wiktorowski once again bring the attention back to WTA’s hectic schedule that several top players, including Iga, have often spoken about. Let’s take a look.

The ATP and WTA Tour have mandatory requirements, meaning players must appear at a particular number of tournaments each season. This is done to ensure the top players’ participation at the big events, which is directly proportional to revenue, fan attendance, and prize money.

Nineteen events are counted towards an ATP ranking every year, although it is only mandatory for qualified players to contest eight Masters 1,000 events. Monte Carlo is not obligatory. Along with the four Grand Slams, top-30 players also have to play at least four ATP 500 events. The women’s rankings are based on 18 tournaments, but the top players are supposed to play at least 20: the four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1,000 events, and six WTA 500 tournaments. Now take a look at the days that entails.

The majority of 1,000 events last about 12 days. The tournaments in Cincinnati and Canada the next to be extended in 2025. Top players can also expect invitations to exhibitions. Alcaraz described his schedule as “tight since the first week of January until the last week of November”. As of the week that started on October 21, he has played 61 matches at 16 tournaments, winning 4 titles, including Grand Slam trophies at the French Open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz did not mince words in September when he said that the schedule would “kill us in some way”.

In one of his most intense runs, in 79 days, Alcaraz played three Grand Slams, and an Olympics singles and doubles tournament across three surfaces in three countries. Now come to Iga. Like Alcaraz, she has played 61 matches this season, winning 54 in 15 tournaments with 5 titles, including the French Open. She had an intense start to the year. She only lost before the fourth round once in nine tournaments. In the build-up to Roland Garros, she won three titles in three countries in 35 days.

No wonder that she had said, “Our calendar is crazy, probably the toughest one in sports. There are sports that are really tough because, physically, you might get beat up. But most sports have four months off, sometimes even six.” while also adding that she does not think the sport was “going in the right direction”. Interestingly, Agnieszka Radwańska has expressed pressing concern for Iga Swiatek, demonstrating her supportive nature despite her overall silence in the past.

Radwanska looks into Iga Swiatek’s potential

Despite being one of Poland’s most prominent tennis figures, Agnieszka Radwańska has maintained a notably low profile. This silence has not gone unnoticed. tennis commentator Marek Furjan was asked to guess why Agnieszka Radwańska has been silent about Iga Swiatek over the years on the Onet Rano program. He stated, “I think that Agnieszka Radwańska is reluctant to talk about Iga not because she has bad blood towards her, but because she knows what the consequences are,” referring to the intense media attention it would receive.

Although Swiatek has clearly had great success on the WTA circuit, her grass-court performances continue to cast doubt on her surface adaptation. She was eliminated in the third round of Wimbledon this year, underscoring the persistent difficulties that have dogged her in this important competition. For context, while Iga has a splendid 87.08 % win percentage on clay, they stand a decent 79.05 % and 70.59 % in hard and grass court respectively.

Agnieszka Radwanska, a former Wimbledon finalist, addressed these concerns by highlighting the particular aspects of her game that need work. She stated, “There’s a lot of things that I think she needs to work on playing on grass. I think she needs a little bit more experience on grass and understands a couple of things a little bit better on that surface.”

Radwanska went on to say that she had complete faith in Iga Swiatek’s abilities and was certain that the young Polish player would win Wimbledon in the future. Radwanska’s confidence in Swiatek is not only evidence of the young player’s talent but also a source of inspiration, reaffirming that Swiatek can fulfill her dream of winning the Wimbledon trophy with the correct direction and tactics from her new coach.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Swiatek’s big decision for the year 2024? Do let us know in the comment section below.