Are curses for real? Well, many might argue and have contradicting opinions. However, after Iga Swiatek announced her shocking split with her long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski today, talks of a bizarre ‘tennis curse’ have resurfaced on social media. Swiatek and Wiktorowski formed a largely successful partnership over the three years that they worked together. However, with recent results not going Swiatek’s way, the split was always on the cards. Looks like the ‘tennis curse’ has worked in Swiatek’s case as well. But what’s that curse?

Back in 2020, Swiatek’s ex-coach, Piotr Sierzputowski, won the WTA Coach of the Year Award. During the same year, Swiatek won her first major title along with a host of other titles. However, a year later, she split with Sierzputowski. A couple of years earlier, the then coach of Naomi Osaka, Sascha Bajin, had also won the top coach award by the WTA but was fired a year later.

The curse of the Coach of the Year Award continued when David Witt and Jessica Pegula split last year after the former won the coach of the year award in 2022. And, the same thing happened in Swiatek’s case again today after she ended her long-time partnership with Tomasz Wiktorowski. The Polish coach had won the WTA Coach of the Year Award after guiding Swiatek to big title wins in 2023, including the French Open, the WTA Finals, and the China Open title.

The ‘tennis curse,’ that is being talked about on social media, seems to be working almost every year, with Wiktorowski being the latest victim. Talking about Swiatek though, while she will be aiming to move on swiftly and fill the void with another coach, she will be forever indebted to Wiktorowski, under whom she won a host of big titles. Despite their abrupt split, Swiatek thanked Wiktorowski for his contribution over the years.

Iga Swiatek pays tribute to her ex-coach

The World Number 1 took to social media to announce the end of her partnership with her compatriot. The two had joined forces back toward the end of the 2021 season after Swiatek split with Piotr Sierzputowski. Wiktorowski had an instant impact, as Swiatek went on to win two Grand Slam titles in the following season.

“I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating our work together. Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for three seasons, when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game. His experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I’ve never dreamed of only a few months after we started working together. Our main goal was to become No.1 player in the world and coach Wiktorowski was the one who said it first,” Swiatek wrote on social media.

With Swiatek being the top player in the WTA circuit currently, there are naturally many names in contention to be her next coach. It is also rumored that Naomi Osaka’s ex-coach, Wim Fissette, is the favorite to join Swiatek’s coaching staff. Who do you think would be the ideal candidate to fill in the shoes of Tomasz Wiktorowski? Let us know your views in the comments below.