"Real vulnerability to Iga Swiatek's game" - Journalist calls attention to Pole 'sorely lacking' Slam results, weighs in on her new coach Wim Fissette

Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim has shared his thoughts on Iga Swiatek's new partnership with coach Wim Fissette, speculating about the dynamic between him and the Pole's sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz. Wertheim also pointed out the areas of improvement in the World No. 2's game, highlighting her underwhelming results at the Majors outside the French Open.

Earlier this month, Swiatek announced her decision to part ways with her longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and hired Wim Fissette as his replacement a few weeks later. The Pole opted to skip the Asian swing to focus on adjusting to her new partnership with Fissette, who has previously worked with the likes of Naomi Osaka, Victoria Azarenka, and Kim Clijsters.

In his Sports Illustrated mailbag, Jon Wertheim responded to a question about how he expected the World No. 2's new partnership with Wim Fissette to fare. Wertheim took the opportunity to acknowledge Iga Swiatek as a "dazzingly talented" player, but he also highlighted a "real vulnerability" in the Pole's game, as evidenced by her results at the Majors outside her four French Open titles.

The 23-year-old has failed to advance past the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam other than Roland Garros since her triumph at the 2022 US Open.

"Swiatek is such a fascinating player in some respects. She is dazzlingly talented. She is a concierge-level athlete. She could retire tomorrow and go down as a generational talent. And yet … there is this real vulnerability to her game. Especially off of clay, her results at majors are sorely lacking," he said.

Wertheim also suggested that Swiatek projected a lot of "discomfort," attributing a portion of her struggles to her unease with being a celebrity. He expressed his desire to see World No. 2 compete with more visible signs of joy on the court.

"For a top player, she projects so much discomfort. Part of that is humanizing. (Whenever athletes say words to the effect of, We are not robots, I find myself reflexively nodding.) Part of it is her unease wearing the jacket—to her, a straitjacket—of celebrity. But for her sake, you wish there were more evidence of joy," he added.

Furthermore, Jon Wertheim raised concerns about how Fissette would co-exist with Iga Swiatek's psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, given her "extraordinarily close" bond with the 23-year-old. He hinted at potential friction caused by the "complicated" dynamic.

"How will the coach fare? One variable here: Iga Swiatek is extraordinarily close to her psychologist Daria Abramowicz. Usually, the coach doubles as a motivator, hype man and dimestore shrink," Wertheim said.

"The dynamic is altered and complicated when there is also a mental coach. How will the organizational pieces fit together? How (and how well) will Fissette coexist with another team member? To be determined," he added.

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Andy Roddick on Iga Swiatek's new coach Wim Fissette: "Going into a very established team that has had a lot of success... Do you want to make a bunch of changes?"

Iga Swiatek with her coaching team (Source: Getty)

Andy Roddick echoed Jon Wertheim's sentiments during a recent episode of his 'Served' podcast, questioning whether Wim Fissette would attempt to make significant changes to Iga Swiatek's game despite her success with the existing members of her team.

The former World No. 1 also speculated about whether Swiatek had brought Fissette on board on a temporary basis or if they had already agreed on a long-term arrangement.

"But going into a very established team that has had a lot of success, that has seen the top of the mountain, wedging yourself in there. Do you want to make a bunch of changes? Are you trying things out for the rest of the year?" Roddick questioned.

"These are all these big macro questions. Have they already signed a deal for two years? Is this a thing that they’re going to try for the rest of the year? There’s a lot of this stuff that we don’t totally know yet," he added.

Iga Swiatek will debut her new partnership with Wim Fissette at the 2024 WTA Finals as she attempts to successfully defend her title and reclaim the World No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka.