It seemed like, at one point in time, Iga Swiatek was untouchable as she led the WTA by a huge margin. She won four grand slam titles between the years 2022-2024 with three of those titles being won at Roland Garros. The highest-ranked Pole reached unbelievable heights during her years at the top of the game—but it seems like her run of dominance is reaching an inevitable end. Swiatek has struggled to regain her prime form in recent years as she has failed to win the amount of titles that she averaged during her best seasons. She lost her No. 1 ranking to current No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and has faced a few early exits since the beginning of 2025, often getting knocked out in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinal stages of bigger tournaments. Swiatek’s struggles have been clear, and many people have linked her recent shortcomings to her accidental doping scandal that occurred in the latter half of the 2024 Season.
And after her opening defeat against fellow Pole Magda Linette in the second round of the Miami Open where her streak of winning 73-consecutive opening-round matches came to an end, it looks like Swiatek was met with an ugly truth as she parted with her coach, Wim Fissette. Fissette began working with Swiatek during October of 2024, and in less than two years of being a part of the Swiatek camp, Fissette was booted from the tennis star’s team. The split was announced Monday, and fans are interested to see what Swiatek’s next move is as her next stop is to the clay court season in which she has often regarded as her best surface.
Honestly, I believe that the coaching change is a crucial decision for Swiatek. In her former coaching relationship with Tomasz Wiktorowski, she experienced far more success and had way more confidence than she does now. Her highly-aggressive playstyle was well executed, and the result of many matches was determined based on how well she played. Swiatek is now a shell of her former self as many fans see her lack of confidence through her play. A lot of her conflicts on court stem from her own psychological battle as she gets rattled quite easily when things aren’t going her way. While she does have a sports psychologist, it seems like nothing has helped calm her nerves during the tight moments.
One of Swiatek’s biggest kryptonites has been the hard-hitters. Players like Ostapenko, Rybakina, and Anisimova trouble her by backing her up and forcing her to play on the defense. Iga’s struggles with adapting from an attacking style to a counterpunching style have exposed her vulnerabilities, causing her to often get outhit with no plan B to rely on. Her game lacks variety, and when she finds herself losing rhythm on the court, the wheels tend to fall off and her game ultimately suffers. Incorporating more variety into her game is crucial if she wants to find a way to neutralize the rallies against the hard-hitters and come in clutch against top players again.
It will be interesting to see what Swiatek’s next moves are as she prepares for the clay swing ahead of Roland Garros. She has only lost one match in the last four years at Roland Garros, and two matches in the last six years. Hopefully she can find her way back to the top as the field is getting increasingly competitive by the day, and the journey back to number one will be more difficult than ever.
