Wim Fissette says Iga Swiatek was pretty fair and transparent when she reached out to him as the Pole didn’t hide that she was provisionally suspended and left the Belgian coach a chance to decide whether or not he wanted to work with her.
On October 17th, the world No. 2 announced through Instagram that she was hiring Naomi Osaka’s former long-time coach. Just before that happened, the Pole ended her partnership with Tomasz Wiktorowski while the Belgian and the Japanese also called time on their collaboration.
At the time, Swiatek was out of action due to “personal reasons.” On Thursday, the tennis community got to know what was exactly the reason for the 23-year-old missing the entire Asian swing as she was serving a provisional suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.
However, she was able to prove that she didn’t intend to dope and ultimately received just a one-month ban. And coach Fissette believed the whole time she was innocent.
“Trust is a foundation of good relationships in our team from the very beginning. Iga told me about the case and left me the decision about our cooperation. I have been observing her for a long time, her values, her work ethic, her standards. I was confident that she is innocent from the start, so it did not influence my decision about joining the team,” the coach told The National.
Wim Fissette© Wim Fissette/Instagram – Fair Use
Fissette opens up on the stress the Swiatek team endured
In their announcement, the ITIA said that the five-time Grand Slam champion tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ). Upon the investigation, it was determined that it got into the Pole’s body by her taking a melatonin medication to address the jet lag and stress issues she was dealing it.
After proving it was a contaminated medication, Swiatek was cleared. Also, it was noted that the 23-year-old’s fault was rated at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence.
When issuing a statement, the former world No. 1 said it was “the toughest battle” she fought and that she cried a lot and went through moments of intense stress and anxiety. Now, Fissette confirms it is true that it was all but an easy period for everyone associated with the four-time French Open champion.
“It was an extremely stressful and difficult situation for Iga and for the whole team. Nevertheless, Iga is a fighter on and off court, this was another tough battle she won. Now we will focus together on the next season supporting each other and working as a team,” the Belgian reflected.
Fissette on how he feels about Swiatek and how he plans to help
So far in her pro career, the 23-year-old has had two coaches – she worked with Piotr Sierzputowski for five years before having a three-year partnership with Wiktorowski. In the past, the world No. 2 didn’t want a coach outside Poland. Now, she has one.
For Fissette – who is considered one of the top coaches on the WTA Tour – it was “a dream opportunity” when Swiatek reached out offering him a job.
“As a coach, it’s a dream to work with someone like Iga. Everyone has watched matches of her, but also probably practices, and just the intensity and the focus she brings, she’s determined, she’s on a mission every moment that she’s on the court,” the Belgian insisted.
“It’s something that I always admired in her. The focus that she brings also in the matches, she starts the match and it’s like 100 percent energy, 100 per cent focus, and she keeps that literally every single point of the match. That’s what I always admired in her. She is already super successful, but I also think we can develop her, there’s more margin to grow, and I hope we will be able to do that.”
On clay, Swiatek’s dominance is well-documented. But winning only one Slam title outside the French Open is something that the 23-year-old hopes to change.
So for Fissette, one of his first jobs will be to help the Pole elevate her game on faster surfaces. And the coach has an idea of how to make that happen.
“In general, say outside of the clay, I think she feels sometimes that she really has to change her game too much. So when she plays against big hitters, she feels maybe she has to hit bigger than them; where I feel like she has to stay a little bit more true to her game and use her weapons, like the heavy spin. There’s no need to go flat,” Fissette explained.
In the perfect world, Swiatek and the Belgian coach would kick off their partnership with an Australian Open title in January.
Tennis World USA