"Over the years Serena Williams was no longer able to keep up with the new, strong girls" - Iga Swiatek's former coach

Iga Swiatek's former coach Piotr Sierzputowski believes that the level of intensity on the WTA tour when Serena Williams started her career was much lesser compared to now.

Sierzputowski and Swiatek worked together for five years before parting ways ahead of the 2022 season. Their partnership was a successful one as the Pole began to make her mark on the tour under his guidance.

Swiatek won the French Open in 2020, her first tour-level title, and a year later added two more titles at the WTA 1000 in Rome and the WTA 500 event in Adelaide.

She also qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time that year. For his role in Swiatek's success, Sierzputowski was even named the 2020 WTA Coach of the Year.

Now, in an interview with Polish media outlet Sport.pl, Sierzputowski has claimed that tennis stars of today are more intense and always up for the fight, unlike yesteryears.

He believes that everything - from ball and racquets to the courts - has changed drastically since even Serena Williams' early years on the circuit.

"Recently I watched a video from the 80s, a match of stars from that time. Well, damn, after all, the ball flew in exchanges so that they had time to think about five options for the next play. The balls were different then, the rackets were different, the courts were different, they moved differently," he stated.

"Twenty years ago, the intensity level was much lower than it is today," Sierzputowski added. "Serena Williams played no worse at 35 than she did at 20. She even developed in tennis, but over the years she was no longer able to keep up with the new, strong girls. The level has really gone up."

Sierzputowski used the ATP tour as an example of how tight the competition is currently, especially at the top.

"Because our knowledge has gone up. Coaches, physical preparation specialists and all people working in tennis players' staffs. Look at men's tennis: there's Djokovic, there's Alcaraz. They two are the best. But behind them are 30 guys on a very similar level," he opined.

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"Serena Williams won consecutive titles playing two or three games at her max" - Iga Swiatek's former coach

Iga Swiatek is a four-time Grand Slam champion.

Iga Swiatek has four titles after her first 17 Grand Slam appearances. At the same stage, Serena Williams also had four titles. Swiatek's idol Rafael Nadal was 22 years and five days old when he won his fourth Grand Slam. Swiatek was 22 years and 10 days old when she won her fourth Major at the French Open this year.

Piotr Sierzputowski doesn't expect Swiatek to dominate the sport as Williams and Nadal have purely because of how much the game has improved over the years.

He stated that while Williams could sail through the initial rounds of tournaments, players now cannot afford to drop their level against any player.

"Back then there was a much bigger level gap between the top 10, maybe top 15 and the rest than there is today. Serena Williams she made the best of it. She won consecutive titles, playing two or three games to the max in the tournament," he said.

"Now you have to play every game to the max. And there's no guarantee you'll win anyway. Then the tennis players from the top knew that in the first rounds they would go out, do their job calmly and win 6:0, 6:1," Sierzputowski added.