Iga Swiatek’s coaching saga just took a unique twist. After her separation from her former coach Tomas Wiktorowski on October 3, after three seasons, discussions began about who would join the Polish player’s team. Amidst this, Serena Williams’ former coach came under the spotlight as rumors circulated about her. In a recent conversation, she made a notable offer to the Polish star, while revealing a sad aspect of the situation.

But before we get to the meat of the story, let’s look at the controversty. For the unversed, Wiktorowski helped the current No. 1 WTA star to win four of her five Grand Slams and 19 of her 22 WTA titlesm in addition to helping her secure her first Olympic medal—a bronze—at the recently concluded Paris Olympics. Moreover, it was under the Polish coach that Swiatek achieved World No. 1 status on April 4, 2022, and still remains so. In fact, the 23-year-old became the seventh-highest women tennis player to spend the most weeks as the WTA Top star. In 2022, the Polish phenom achieved another career-high—she won 37 matches in a row, the longest WTA winning streak since 2000. With such notable achievements by the duo, why did they suddenly decide to split?

Well, we don’t have a definite answer yet. Going by the Polish star’s farewell note, it seemed like a tough decision. “Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for three seasons when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game…Coach THANK YOU, I wish you all the best. I know you would like to rest after these 3 years of hard work and traveling a lot and spend some well deserved time with loved ones and I hope you’ll get what you need,” she wrote on Instagram, announcing the decision. However, as per an unnamed insider, things are not were not as jovial between the two…

The day after the official statement, they came forward with a controversial revelation: “He became nervous, used offensive words, and more and more often he treated Iga harshly, such as in New York. He also led a completely different lifestyle than Iga. Less sporty, let’s call it that.” To make matters worse, during this year’s US Open training session came out on the court 20 minutes late while wiping her eyes. “It’s time to cry,” her coach had reportedly said. Now left without a mentor, Swiatek’s top priority is looking for one which she’s already begun by starting “first talks with coaches from abroad (non-Polish), because I’m ready to take the next step in my career.” And it seems like tennis royalty, Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubs, is already up for that job.

In a candid conversation on her ‘Asia Swing’ podcast on October 7, the 53-year-old former tennis player and current coach said, “Well will see about it. You know we have spoken about it, the coaching carousel. As somebody has asked me this question if I am going to coach Iga and I am not going to coach Iga. If she calls me to coach her, I will be very happy to do it. But I do think that she needs someone that is a little bit more fun to be honest, a little bit more relaxing. People probably think I am a very intense coach, I’m not. I think the most important thing for a coach is actually to understand your player.” While her statement showed her clear intention to coach Swiatek, she also confirmed that no offer had come from Swiatek’s side.

Notably, Stubbs coached Williams during the 2022 US Open—the latter’s last tournament before retiring, which she lost in Round 3 against Ajla Tomljanovic (7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1).

Despite that, her statement echoed something similar to what Alexandra Stevenson predicted about Swiatek. Yesterday, in a podcast, Stevenson discussed the duality of Swiatek’s nature and how it impacts her game.

Alexandra Stevenson highlighted Iga Swiatek as “defeated and panicky”

In a conversation with Hughes Laverdiere, Stevenson analyzed WTA number one’s situation in detail. “We are talking about Iga Swiatek being all wound up and like stressed out. It’s interesting when she plays her best tennis that her being wound up in tennis works for her but it’s a different kind of intensity as to when she is like the scared deer, scared rabbit, you can see the difference between the two. And its very interesting because she is not even totally negative but she is slightly defeated and panicky, right? But then the intensity when she is walking around quick and getting things done, that’s like a high level of positive like okay, that’s her personality,” she said. Stevenson’s statement sounded similar when Stubbs believed Swiatek needed someone relaxing for her mentorship.

The Polish has already spoken about how the hectic tournament schedule has affected her mental health. She also chose to skip the Asian Swing in China. Her shocking exit from the 2024 US Open and the emotional outburst afterward resonated with Stevenson’s thoughts about her personality.

Iga Swiatek may have parted ways with her coach, but she might be thinking strategically. As speculation about her next coach continues, the tennis world hopes she makes a decision that will help her future success.