Agnieszka Radwanska makes massive coaching move to join another Pole and it's not Iga Swiatek

Agnieszka Radwanska has made a surprise return to tennis as the coach of compatriot Magda Linette. The move comes a couple of months after Radwanska's husband, Dawid Celt, was linked to a coaching role in Iga Swiatek's camp. Ultimately though, Swiatek, Polish tennis' most successful export, roped in the experienced Wim Fissette as her new coach.

On Wednesday, December 18, Magda Linette, currently the World No. 38 and a former No. 19, announced via an X (formerly Twitter) post that Agnieszka Radwanska has joined her team. Linette shared a picture of herself in conversation with the former World No. 2 during a practice session, and captioned the post:

"Someone pinch me! @ARadwanska just joined my team!"

According to tennis insider Michal Samulski, Radwanska will work with Linette as the latter's second coach and consulant while Mark Gellard will continue to serve as the Pole's primary coach. Furthermore, it is being assumed that the former No. 2 will offer her services to Linette up until the conclusion of the 2025 claycourt season, inclusive of 8-10 weeks of direct work.

Radwanska doesn't have a whole lot of coaching experience. However, she did get a taste of it at the 2022 United Cup, where she and her husband teamed up to captain the Polish contingent at the mixed-team event. Iga Swiatek was a part of the Polish team.

There was a back-and-forth between Radwanska and Swiatek last year, following the latter's withdrawal from the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup.

"Agnieszka Radwanska expressed her opinion in the context that she herself had sacrificed many times for the national team" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek (Source: Getty)

Agnieszka Radwanska wasn't impressed with Iga Swiatek's decision to withdraw from the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The withdrawal marked the second straight year that Swiatek didn't participate in the international women's team tennis event. Poland suffered without the former World No. 1, and ultimately crashed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals.

In the aftermath of Poland's exit, Radwanska said:

"She might not even perform to support the girls or play at a lower level just to win. She might not participate in all the meetings, but the most important ones."

Swiatek later responded to Radwanska, saying:

"Agnieszka expressed her opinion in the context that she herself had sacrificed many times for the national team. A similar attitude must certainly be appreciated. However, I have the impression that in the past all this was not analyzed so carefully and some things were easier to plan. There was no discussion that, for example, the next tournament would be played on another continent."

Swiatek is currently in Abu Dhabi, where she is set to take part in the World Tennis League exhibition team tennis event before commencing her preparations for the 2025 season.