Iga Swiatek reveals one big area of her game she hopes to improve with her new coach
Iga Swiatek is preparing to make her return to tennis after an extended break and she is looking to finish the season on a high.
Switaek has not played since losing at the US Open against Jessica Pergula in September, as she admitted fatigue was the reason for her absence from the WTA Tour.
She has taken her time away from the court to reshape her team after adding new coach Wim Fissette to her team and she is looking to start their partnership on a high by winning the lucrative end-of-season WTA Tour event.
These are early days for Swiatek in her partnership with Fissette, but it is clear that she is looking to add a few more dimensions to her serve under Fissette’s watch.
Asked by reporters which areas of her game she is looking to build on, she smiled before offering up this answer.
“If I’m going to answer that, then everybody is going to know what is my weaker side,” said Swiatek.
“I think it’s kind of obvious. I for sure want to improve my serve, as l’ve been doing for past years. I feel like I still need to continue that. For sure I’m not a complete player.
“I think tactically there are many ways I could go and have more variety on court. Wim has some nice ideas.
“Honestly for now we’ve just been preparing for this tournament and getting to know each other. The real changes, we’re going to talk about them during the off-season because that’s the proper time to do it.
“For now I’ve been trying to just be in the best shape for this tournament. Some technicalities, we’re going to work on them in the pre-season.”
Swiatek is getting used to life as world No 2 after she was dethroned from the top spot by Aryna Sabalenka, but she has a chance to reclaim the No 1 position if she defends the WTA Finals title she won in Mexico last year.
After Swiatek and Sabalenka shared a friendly practice session in Riyhad ahead of the WTA Finals, the two rivals could be set to renew their battle on court over the next few days.
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“Obviously we’re both fighting for this spot,” added Swiatek. “It’s been us basically kind of over the past few years.
“I am in the tournament. I obviously want to play my best game here and win this tournament. I’m just going to focus on my first match and do everything step by step.
“It was just nice to practice with Aryna because we haven’t done that in a while, since probably 2022. It’s been a long time. I’m not really sure why. Yeah, it was a really good practice.
“She’s a great player. She deserves to be world No 1. For sure I’m going to fight for me to be in that place.”
Sabalenka can secure the Year-End No.1 ranking at the WTA Tour Finals by either:
- Winning three round robin matches
- Winning two round robin matches and advancing to the final
- Winning one round robin match and advancing to the final
Swiatek must win the title to have a chance at securing the No.1 ranking and:
- If Swiatek loses one round robin match, then Sabalenka only needs to win two round robin matches to secure the
Year-End No.1 ranking - If Swiatek loses two round robin matches, then Sabalenka only needs to win one round robin match to secure the
Year-End No.1 ranking
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