Iga Swiatek admitted that his decision to part with Wim Fissette was made long before the news was published, as he also hinted that he had spoken to Rafael Nadal about his next coach, but he is determined not to give too much away.
The six-time Grand Slam winner split with Fissette after her second-round loss to Pole Magda Linette at the Miami Open almost two weeks ago.
Swiatek’s exit from the WTA 1000 tournament in Florida followed quarter-final losses against Elina Svitolina at the Indian Wells Open and Maria Sakkari at the Qatar Open.
It was that defeat to Sakkari that set the wheels in motion and decided to end his working relationship with Fissette, who joined his setup in October 2024.
In an extensive interview with Sport.pl, Swiatek was asked about ending the relationship with the Belgian and he answered: “This is between us. I don’t want to go into details. It is certainly not something that someone like me decides to do after one failure. I would not make such a decision lightly.
“Sometimes you can see me as an opinionated person, but in fact I don’t make decisions in a hurry. I have a good judgment. I like to take my time to make decisions. Besides, I don’t make many changes in the team. I think it’s a very good approach. I like to give the team a chance to “re-dress” and start working a little differently.
However, in this case, I felt it was time for a change.
“During the tournament in Doha, I realized that I don’t feel as good on the field as before.” It’s true that different competitions can have different reasons for not doing well – sometimes I know I wasn’t focused that day, sometimes my hand failed, sometimes something else happened.
“After losing to Maria Sakkari, we sat down and talked for a long time. We talked about what we need to change and how to approach the next week so that I can return to my solid game. And indeed, we progressed to Indian Wells. But when I thought about the whole picture, I decided that I needed a change.
“To be honest, I learned a lot about myself during this process. There were different times, different methods and going back – this step took several weeks.”
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Of course, the focus is on his next coach and future clay court season.
Several names have been mentioned, including Nadal’s former tennis coach Francisco Roig and Billie Jean King’s Poland Cup manager Dawid Celt.
Swiatek will be working at the Stuttgart Open and will prepare for the tournament by training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, leading to speculation that Nadal has played a major role in the search for his next coach.
When the world number 1 was asked “Is it true that Rafael Nadal helped you find a coach? And is it true that he will be in your box in Stuttgart and in other clay matches?” he said: “Of course – Rafa is my idol and he’s actually the only person I saw playing tennis when I was a kid.
He was also kind enough to talk to me a few times while playing and give me advice.
“Help from someone with experience – in fact, the best, the Goat – is obviously a wonderful opportunity and I will use it whenever I can. Rafa is very open. He is a good guy.
The fact that I have his number and can contact him is a great honor for me. [in choosing a coach – rl] or no, I like to keep that between us, because it is part of this story. I wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”
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