Iga Swiatek proved that “heavy is the head that wears the crown.” Despite delivering a moderate 2024 season with a Grand Slam win, Swiatek’s playstyle hasn’t impressed the fraternity. Instead, they criticized the Polish player, questioning whether she deserved her WTA number-one ranking. Offering insight on the matter, Swiatek’s former coach revealed his prediction, explaining how coaches are important assets that nurture and bring out the best in a player.

Swiatek had an impressive 2024 season. She won the 2024 Madrid Open, the 2024 Italian Open, and the 2024 Roland Garros consecutively within two months. The Polish WTA star also won the Indian Wells Masters and the Qatar Open this year. Apart from these tournaments, Swiatek performed quite well in others. For example, she was a semifinalist in the 2024 Stuttgart Open and the 2024 Cincinnati Masters, and a quarterfinalist in the US Open. Despite her good on-court results, tennis analysts complained about the lack of variety in the WTA number one’s game. Artur Szostaczko, the former coach of the Polish player, talked about it in depth with a Polish media publication, Sport.

Mentioning Swiatek’s lack of variety, Szostaczko said he was criticized for revealing that the Polish player has 20-30 percent of potential unused. “We don’t know if she doesn’t want to or if others can’t bring it out. I really don’t know, I don’t want to speculate and look for guilty people.” Szostaczko’s statement suggested that Swiatek needs a coach to help her unlock that unused potential and bring more variety to her playstyle. Despite highlighting Swiatek’s shortcomings, her former coach couldn’t resist mentioning how “she does her job as best she can.”  He also said Iga is “not a machine that will win every tournament.” His words reflected his vision and expertise regarding Swiatek’s tennis skills and offered hope to her supporters.

When Swiatek lost in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open, the fraternity questioned her skills as the WTA number one. They also criticized Swiatek’s lack of variety as one of the strongest players in the world. However, Swiatek’s collaboration with Tomasz Wiktorowski simplified her strategy and brought more variety. According to The New York Times, “In her 2020 French Open win, drop shots and coming forward were a key part of her strategy, which has since been simplified under coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and has delivered inarguable results.”

Swiatek might lack variety, but she maintained a good pace throughout the 2024 season. However, her 2024 US Open run was full of errors. Despite many people rooting for the WTA star, she displayed a level of Arthur Ashe nowhere close to her 2024 Roland Garros performance.

Iga Swiatek accepts her fault after repetitive US Open errors doom her Grand Slam journey

While the Polish player attended her 11th Grand Slam tournament as the WTA number one at the 2024 US Open, her performance was truly unimpressive. Against finalist Jessica Pegula, Swiatek made 41 errors, reducing her chance of winning against the American. “It’s just math. You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes,” Swiatek said. This Polish player had amusing revelations about participating in the 2022 American Slam. While she won against Pegula in the quarterfinals, she said, “[It] was the Grand Slam that I was least chilled at, Even though I won, I didn’t feel comfortable on the court at all. I didn’t feel like I could play my game naturally.”

Iga Swiatek might lack variety in her game, but it is not her fault. As her former coach shed light on her talent, it seems that the Polish star needs a coach who will help her reach her full potential. While there are complaints about variety, Swiatek can certainly change that perception with her hard work. While the 2024 US Open run seemed to disappoint her too, she might return next season with a bang. Are you ready to see Iga Swiatek’s magic on the court?