Former WTA star identifies player who will be the biggest rival for Iga Swiatek in 2024
Barbara Schett has discussed which players will be the main competitors for Iga Swiatek in 2024 and believes Aryna Sabalenka will be the Polish star’s biggest rival.
The former world No 7, a respected tennis presenter and analyst, assessed that players who can serve big and hit the ball “extremely hard” can cause Swiatek problems on hard courts.
Following an incredible 2022 campaign, Swiatek secured a tour-leading six titles and compiled a brilliant 68-11 (86.1%) record during another excellent year in 2023.
The 22-year-old claimed her fourth Grand Slam title with a third triumph at the French Open and ended the year on an 11-match winning streak as she won the WTA 1000 title in Beijing and the WTA Finals in Cancun.
Swiatek overtook Sabalenka to regain the WTA world No 1 ranking after the WTA Finals, having lost top spot to the 25-year-old Belarusian after the US Open in September.
Sabalenka was outstanding at the Grand Slam events in 2023 as she won the Australian Open, was a runner-up at the US Open and reached the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Schett outlined the blueprint for troubling Swiatek on hard courts ahead of next month’s Australian Open and picked the powerful Sabalenka as the player most likely to challenge Swiatek again next year.
“I think on the hard courts, it has to be somebody who hits the ball extremely hard, who has a lot of pace, who can put her (Swiatek) under pressure and have a big service,” the Austrian told Eurosport.
“That is a [Elena] Rybakina, that is a Sabalenka. That has to be Coco Gauff. I would throw [Jessica] Pegula in the mix as we’ll see how she’s going to play, but she’s capable of doing that.
“Maybe [Karolina] Muchova is somebody who can do that, who can also maybe mix it up a little bit, but has a bit more pace than Ons Jabeur. Yeah, I think those players I’ve mentioned are going to be the biggest rivals. But if I had to choose one, I think it would be Sabalenka.”
The three-time WTA titlist also argued the 2024 Paris Olympics will be a significant goal for Swiatek – with the tennis event to be held at Roland Garros.
“We know that she (Swiatek) feels comfortable at Roland Garros. She feels most comfortable, most comfortable on clay, I think, with her spin on the forehand, with the backhand, and she can flatten it out,” she analysed.
“Yes, she’s going to feel the pressure, but she’s going to feel the pressure everywhere. It’s a matter of how you deal with it. I think she will be very excited to play the Olympics in Paris as well, where she’s had so much success.
“It reminds me a little bit of Andy Murray when the Olympics were in London, in Wimbledon, and he’s done well. I think she’s going to embrace that and imagine if she could win the French Open and the Olympics at Roland Garros? That would be incredible. And I think that’s something which is on her radar.
“I think that’s something she would like to achieve as well. I’m not too worried about her, to be honest at the French Open, the biggest challenge or the bigger challenges are going to be the other Grand Slams for her.”
Schett suggested Swiatek will not have viewed her Grand Slam results in 2023 as particularly stellar and also highlighted the importance of confidence for the Pole.
“I see her winning big titles again. For her, probably the year was pretty average in terms of Grand Slams. She only won one. I would be happy to win one Grand Slam title in the past, but she’s just won one. And I think that’s the main focus, that she brings her best tennis,” the 47-year-old added.
“With Iga, I always feel like it’s a matter of her mental approach, how much she believes in herself. It shows the way she hits her forehand, sometimes she can get a little bit shaky on that shot when she has doubts. So if she’s fresh mentally, if she believes in herself, she’s going to be hard to beat.”
