Iga Swiatek has been under a glaring spotlight lately, and it’s not just because of the career highs that took her to World No. 1. The Polish sensation has been navigating a turbulent phase, especially with the coaching challenges she faced after parting ways with her former coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski. Naturally, this created a buzz among fans, media, and experts alike. However, amidst all this attention, there was one surprising silence—former World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska. Despite being one of Poland’s most prominent tennis figures, Radwanska has stayed noticeably quiet about Swiatek’s journey, and tennis commentator Marek Furjan seems to have a reason for that.

The tennis bigwig and the co-host of the BreakPoint podcast, Furjan, engaged in an interaction with Lukasz Kadziewicz for Przeglad Sportowy, the only Polish sports daily. During the Onet Rano program of the publication, Furjan was quizzed about the probable reason behind Radwanska’s silence about Swiatek over the years, and if it was due to some kind of rift between them. Known for his witty take, Furjan yet again had an interesting answer to share. 

Speaking in the interview, he said, “I think that Agnieszka Radwanska is reluctant to talk about Iga not because she has bad blood towards her, but because she knows what the consequences are.” Continuing further he highlighted that the media coverage of such an incident would be at its peak. “Radwanska about Świątek”, that’s immediately [the page’s headline — editor’s note].” He received some sort of agreement from host Kadziewicz  as well who said, “It would probably be the number one of “Przegląd Sportowy” that day.”

Furjan was quick to respond to this and highlighted that “The negative context is always drawn,” in such cases. Remember, Swiatek witnessed a string of challenges and has failed to return to the courts ever since the US Open. The coverage of her challenges was immense, especially from the Polish media, which ranged from her split with her former coach and her partnership with the new coach, Wim Fissette. While many experts shared their sentiments in this regard, the 20-time title winner Radwanskachose the other route and remained silent. But there is another interesting angle to this. 

While the former Polish sensation did not speak a word about Iga Swiatek recently and has been reluctant to discuss her on previous occasions as well, her husband Dawid Celt became a crucial member of Swiatek’s team during the absence of a full-time coach. Earlier, he was also rumored to be Swiatek’s mentor for the WTA Finals. Although Radwanska has not been too vocal about Swiatek, there have been some instances in the past where the former star expressed her sentiments for the player. 

In an interview with Rolandgarros.com in 2023, Radwanska lauded the star player’s dominance on the courts. “I think she’s showing this kind of level that you can’t really see in any other players,” Radwanska said. “I don’t know how the girls have to play against her to even be close to winning a set. At the moment I don’t see any player playing at the same level as Iga,” she added. Interestingly, she has even given some suggestions to the player.

When Agnieszka Radwanska expressed pressing concern for Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek might have witnessed immense success on the WTA circuit but her performance on the grass has continued to raise concerns for the player. This year too, she was ousted in the third round of Wimbledon itself, as her woes came to light yet again. Former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska opened up about this and claimed that while the Pole has the potential to win Wimbledon, there are areas of her game she needs to improve first.

Speaking in an interview during Wimbledon’s Legends media day in July this year, Radwanska said “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.” Continuing further, she expressed her belief in the player and shared, “I believe she will win Wimbledon one day.”

For now, it would be interesting to see if Radwanska issues any more advice for Iga Swiatek as the latter begins a new partnership and moves forward for some crucial tournaments of the year.