Iga Swiatek has indeed faced her share of challenges lately. After her US Open quarterfinal exit and parting ways with longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, the former world no. 1 took some much-needed time off, missing the Asian Swing entirely. But now, as she steps back onto the courts, Swiatek has a new ace up her sleeve: celebrated coach Wim Fissette. While fans and critics are curious (and maybe a bit skeptical) about her latest coaching change, Swiatek has stepped forward to silence the doubts. 

The Polish tennis sensation engaged in an interview with Sky Sports, the excerpts from which were shared on the official X account of the broadcaster. She deliberated on a wide range of facts including her latest partnership with Naomi Osaka’s former teammate and highlighted her extensively-thought decision. Swiatek shared that she wishes to take a long-term decision and this decision was also a part of a similar perspective. 

Speaking in the interview, Swiatek said, “I spend a lot of time transitioning from one course to another and that was my main focus and my main goal.” Continuing further, she revealed that she thinks quite a lot before coming to a decision. “I make decisions looking at long-term, I’m kind of person that usually overthinks this stuff. But when I actually make a decision, I want it to be good.” Swiatek also opened up about her expectations from Fissette and shared, “Working with Wim Fissette is pretty exciting. Hopefully, we are going to work for many years.”  Interestingly, this comes at a time when there are certain doubts over the partnership between the two. 

One such concern was raised by former American player Andy Roddick. Speaking on the October 22nd episode of Served with Roddick, he highlighted that Fissette has to fulfill a tough job given Swiatek’s dominance. “New coach coming in is maybe, I don’t know, tougher because the player [Iga Swiatek] you’re dealing with is currently number one and has been the best player in tennis for the last four years at scale,” he said. Remember, Swiatek, who recently lost her world no.1 spot to Aryna Sabalenka has won five titles this season including the Grand Slam at the French Open. This also made Roddick question whether Fissette would look to make changes to Swiatek’s team given her sensational form that was seen this year. 

Another such concern was raised by the Polish sports journalist with Sports.pl, Dominik Senkowski, who highlighted the coach has continued to remain the captain of team Belgium at the Billie Jean King Cup. With the tournament scheduled to take place on November 13, soon after the WTA Finals, concerns were raised about Fissette’s priority. But Swiatek has continued to express her trust in her new coach. 

“He seems to have a great attitude, vision and huge experience at a very top level of tennis,” Iga Swiatek shared while announcing her decision in October. And with Fissette, Swiatek wishes to improve a crucial aspect of her skills. 

When Iga Swiatek revealed her weak side

Iga Swiatek has emerged as one of the formidable forces on courts and has amassed five Grand Slams under her belt so far in her career. But the 23-year-old also has her share of struggles that she wishes to overcome as part of her new partnership with Wim Fissette. 

When quizzed ahead of the WTA Finals, about the aspect she would like to improve, Swiatek smiled and said, “If I’m going to answer that, then everybody is going to know what is my weaker side.” However, she was quick to detail it. “I think it’s kind of obvious. I for sure want to improve my serve, as l’ve been doing for past years. I feel like I still need to continue that. For sure I’m not a complete player. I think tactically there are many ways I could go and have more variety on court. Wim has some nice ideas.” However, she also claimed that the main focus over the past few days had been the WTA finals as the two are also getting to know each other better. 

As the tournament and eventually the partnership evolves, it would be interesting to see if Swiatek can gain her dominance back and clinch more titles with Fissette by her side.