Iga Świątek will soon reach 90 weeks spent as the world number one in women’s tennis. The first time a Pole was at the top of this ranking was at the beginning of April 2022, when Ash Barty resigned from tennis. Świątek jumped into the leader’s seat by surprise, but it must be admitted that she does better than excellent in this role. There is no doubt that the Raszyn player was the best player in the world in the last two seasons.

Despite this, many voices can still be heard that there are many imperfections in the game of the first racket in the world that should be improved. After the Australian Open 2024, these voices only intensified, and many words of criticism were also expressed in relation to Iga Świątek’s staff, which, according to many, did not do its job properly, omitting certain elements. He became the leader of a group of critics Artur Szostaczkowho razed the Polish staff to the ground with very strong words.

– However, you can’t blame her for the defeat against Noskowa, because the Czech played simply outstanding. Our tennis player’s forehand was the most faulty, which was especially visible at the end of the match. The serve also failed, although coach Wiktorowski assures that they have changed a lot in this respect recently. In critical situations it was obvious that it was not working – he assessed in an interview with “I.pl” (MORE HERE).

Maciej Trąbski, a journalist of “Przegląd Sportowy”, decided to raise this topic in another conversation with Szostaczko, and the latter only intensified his criticism. Iga Świątek’s first coach draws particular attention to the monotony of the Polish woman’s tennis and the lack of appropriate service capabilities that would help her dominate over her rivals. Of course, we are talking about playing a slajwho has not been present in Świątek’s game since he started working with coach Wiktorowski.

– I have been saying for two years that the staff must pay attention to for Iga to diversify the game more. There is a lack of slajs and decisive entry into the net after a good play. She runs up, then backs away, not really knowing what to do. It looks as if this zone was foreign to her, although it was not foreign in the past, because when Iga won the junior Wimbledon, it was clearly visible how many shortcuts she played at that time. This is not the case today, said Szostaczko.

There was also a mention of the lack of a plan “B”, when her rivals diversify their game by mixing speeds, rotations and shot heights, which the Polish woman clearly cannot cope with. Of course, a new service movement has also reappeared, which in theory was supposed to help Świątek significantly, but so far it clearly does not give the expected results. Perhaps time is needed to test the new method of administration in combat.

– Forehand and backhand, how much the “factory” gave. When the girls play Iga with balls with different bounce heights or play faster than her, that’s when the problems begin. Iga’s forehand is often broken, played on the frame, and the serve, in my opinion, is where a mistake was made, because there is no rhythm in her service move. It is even worse than it was. The day after me, Martina Navratilova and Samantha Stosur spoke and they said what I said. There is no change of direction, and that is the basis of the match, because sooner or later the opponent adapts to what we offer him. This was the case in the match against Noskova. The Czech was not afraid of Iga, she played consistently, and in the end there were practically no exchanges – added Shostakko indignantly.

However, it is not that Iga does everything wrong. According to Szostaczko, in one specific aspect the Pole is the best in the world and no one can match her.

First coach Świątek still believes that the Pole can make big steps forward. Szostaczko is aware that Iga reached the top very quickly and has plenty of time to make her game even more dangerous for her rivals. – Iga is still such a young tennis player that she should constantly develop her repertoire of moves. It must finally be visible, because so far, apart from the fact that she has increased her power a little, nothing has changed in her delivery – he said. He also added that these words are not criticism, but a real assessment of the situation from a training point of view.

We will soon find out whether the Pole will show better form after the Australian Open. Świątek will play in the WTA 1000 in Doha, where he will defend the title he won last year. At that time, however, it was a 500-ranking event, but this year the prestige will be greater. This tournament will start on February 11, with the final scheduled for February 17. You will be able to follow reports from the Polish team’s matches at: Sport.Interia.pl.