Iga Swiatek addresses Rafael Nadal rumours as Pole opens up on axing coach | Tennis | Sport

Iga Swiatek has opened up on her decision to part ways with coach Wim Fissette for the first time, as she prepares to start the clay-court swing with a new mentor. Last week, the world No. 3 announced the end of her partnership with the Belgian ‘super coach’, who was in her corner as she won her maiden Wimbledon title last summer. Their split came off the back of Swiatek’s shock Miami Open loss, her first opening-round exit from a tournament since 2021.

It has since been reported that Swiatek will head to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca to prepare for the clay swing, and that Nadal himself has recommended a new coach to the six-time Major winner – Francisco Roig, who spent years working with Nadal, and coached Emma Raducanu as recently as January.

Although Swiatek refused to open up on Nadal’s potential role in helping her find a replacement coach, she candidly spoke about her decision to stop working with Fissette, and revealed that it had been on her mind for a while.

“This is between us. I don’t want to go into details. It’s definitely not something someone like me decides to do after one failure. I wouldn’t make such a decision lightly,” Swiatek told Sport.pl of her split from Fissette.

“Sometimes you can see me as an emotional person, but I really don’t make decisions impulsively. I’m quite rational. I like to give myself time to make decisions. Besides, I don’t make many changes within the team. I think that’s a very good approach. I like to give the team the opportunity to ‘reset’ and start working a little differently.

“However, in this case, I felt it was simply time for a change. Yes, it wasn’t a decision made in Miami – it was a longer process during which I carefully considered everything.”

Swiatek was ousted in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in February, blowing a one-set lead over Maria Sakkari. That seemed to be the catalyst for the world No. 3 to change something. And she ultimately decided to part ways with her coach.

She continued: “During the tournament in Doha, I realised I wasn’t feeling as good on court as I had before. Of course, different tournaments can have different reasons for a poor performance—sometimes I just know I wasn’t focused that day, sometimes my forehand was failing, sometimes something else. It happens. But I felt like I wasn’t playing as well, and that’s why I started losing confidence.

“After my loss to Maria Sakkari, we sat down and had a long talk. We discussed what to change and how to approach the following week so I could get back to my solid game. And indeed, we made some progress before Indian Wells. But when I considered the whole picture, I decided I needed a change. Honestly, I learned a lot about myself during this process. There were different moments, different approaches and retreats – this stage lasted several weeks.”

Swiatek did not start looking for a new coach until she had officially split from Fissette early last week. But the 24-year-old didn’t want to address reports that Nadal helped her in her search. “You know, Rafa is my idol and basically the only person I watched play tennis as a child,” she said.

“He was also kind enough to talk to me several times during his career and give me tips. He’s the person I can turn to if I need help or have a problem. Having someone so experienced – the best, the GOAT, in fact – is obviously a fantastic opportunity, and I’ll take advantage of it if I can. Rafa is very open. He’s a great guy. Just having his number and being able to contact him is a huge honour. But honestly, whether he helped me or not, I’d like to keep it between us, because he’s part of this story. I wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”

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