Iga Swiatek going to have a really tough season, predicts Agnieszka Radwanska

Former Polish player Agnieszka Radwanska has predicted that her compatriot Iga Swiatek could have a tough season following her surprise fourth-round loss to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open on Sunday (January 22).

The top seed stunningly lost in straight sets to reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina. Swiatek is now 6-2 on the season after coming off a stunning 67-9 campaign, winning eight titles, including three Masters 1000s and two Grand Slam titles.

The defeat meant Swiatek lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open for the third time in four visits.

Radwanska told Eurosport that Swiatek could struggle to live up to her 2022 exploits.

“I think she’s going to have a really tough season because of all the pressure from last year. She is defending everything, pretty much every single week, so it’s hard, and it’s not easy that everybody wants to beat you because you are world No. 1," Radwanska said.

The former World No. 2 added that Iga Swiatek could still have a great season if she learns to handle the pressure.

“She really needs to work on how to handle the pressure, that’s the main key. But I think that she’s still going to do great things this year, and she’s just lost against Rybakina, who just won Wimbledon, so it was a tough one. Rybakina was playing solid tennis from the beginning until the end, but the season’s not over, so I think she’s still going to do great," she said.

Rybakina, meanwhile, will take on Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday (January 24), while Iga Swiatek is left wondering what might have been.

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"I think she always had potential to get to the second week of a Grand Slam" - Radwanska on Iga Swiatek's compatriot Magda Linette

Magda Linette at the 2023 Australian Open - Day 8

Iga Swiatek may have fallen before the quarterfinals, but her compatriot Magda Linette has had a dream run at the Australian Open.

Linette has dropped just one set en route her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Radwanska said that Linette has always had the ability to play "great tennis."

"I think she always had potential to get to the second week of a Grand Slam. With her, it was always in her mind that she really didn’t play her best in those third rounds (previously). I think here, she is playing amazing tennis from the first round, and she killed it today, and in the third round before as well," Radwanska stated.

The World No. 45 is coming off a stunning straight-set win over Caroline Garcia in the fourth round.