Coach Wim Fissette is keen on making Iga Swiatek a much bigger threat outside clay and he has also warned Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina that he has his ways of preparing his player the best possible way for a match.
After splitting with long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski because the world No. 1 felt he couldn’t help her anymore, the five-time Grand Slam hired a non-Polish coach for the first time in her career.
And it is quite a name as Fissette guided Naomi Osaka to two Grand Slam titles in the past and he also worked with the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, Kim Clijsters and Zheng Qinwen.
While Swiatek is still ranked at No. 1, her main success over the last two seasons has come on clay and the feeling is that she is definitely vulnerable on hard and grass. But now she wants to change it.
“Our goal is for Swiatek to start adding more Grand Slam titles on other surfaces as well. The clay-court season has its own twists. There are a lot of matches and tournaments played in a short period of time. You need to get into a rhythm, gain confidence, and after Paris it’s time to switch to other surfaces. Then there will be an opportunity to work on playing on other surfaces and try to succeed there,” the Belgian told Eurosport Poland.
Iga Swiatek© Iga Swiatek/Instagram – Fair Use
Fissette on how he can help Swiatek
After Swiatek put up a very dominant season in 2022, the competition figured out how to play the 23-year-old and stand a much bigger chance. It is not a secret that the Pole has had some tough defeats on the biggest stage during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
However, the Belgian is confident that he has what it takes to put Swiatek in the best possible position to beat her biggest rivals.
“Top players want to play big matches, that’s their main motivation. They usually don’t have problems with it, it makes them happy. How do I work? I have information, videos. I prepare my players, we discuss strengths and weaknesses, prepare tactically and draw conclusions. In the case of tennis players like Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina, you make an analysis and look for a way to beat them,” Fissette explained.
