Iga Swiatek confirms split with coach as she seeks new ‘non-Polish’ mentor | Tennis | Sport
Iga Swiatek has announced her split from coach Tomasz Wiktorowski after a highly successful three-year partnership.
Swiatek is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of her generation and has spent all but eight weeks top of the WTA rankings since climbing to the top in April 2022.
Part of the reason behind Swiatek’s dominance has been her performances at Grand Slams, particularly the French Open, where the Polish superstar has won four of the last five Roland-Garros tournaments.
But just weeks before the 2024 season comes to a close, Swiatek is on the lookout for a new coach.
Announcing the news via Instagram, Swiatek told her 1.8million followers: “Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for three seasons, when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game.
“His experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I’ve never dreamed of only a few months after we started working together.
“Our main goal was to become No.1 player in the world and coach Wiktorowski was the one who said it first.
“We aimed very high, we headed to every tournament with a clear goal to win it. Together with coach Wiktorowski we won many tournaments and 4 Grand Slams.”
She continued: “It happened thanks to my entire sports team, with my fitness coach and physio Maciej Ryszczuk and my psychologist Daria Abramowicz on board.
“Coach, THANK YOU, I wish you all the best. I know that you would like to rest after these 3 years of hard work and traveling a lot and spend some well deserved time with your loved ones and I hope you’ll get what you need.”
Swiatek went on to reveal she’s now keen to head in a different direction, telling her fans she’ll now appoint a non-Polish coach to take over from Wiktorowski.
The world No.1 said: “Due to this important change on my team, I give myself a couple of weeks to start a cooperation with a new coach.
“I’m in the middle of first talks with coaches from abroad (non-Polish), because I’m ready to take the next step in my career. I will let you know when I make a decision.”
It’s likely the first task for Swiatek and her new coach heading into the new year will be launching a bid to return to the top of the WTA rankings.
While she still holds the No.1 spot as things stand, it’s expected Aryna Sabalenka, fresh from her US Open win, will overtake Swiatek before the year is out.
