Artur Szostaczko was Iga Świątek’s first coach and knows our tennis player like few others. We asked the coach how he sees her recent performances, whether he shares the opinions expressed by experts and commentators and what he expects from the tennis player at the end of the season.
Dominik Senkowski, Sport.pl: What do you think Iga Świątek lacked at the US Open to defeat Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals?
Artur Szostaczko: This match was weak from a coaching perspective. Iga did not do well tactically and mentally. There were a lot of nerves, and therefore a lot of mistakes from our tennis player. What is the reason for this? There could be many factors. She did not say anything before that she had health problems. I think that Iga, like Carlos Alcaraz, paid for her appearance at the games. They were awarded gold medals even before the Olympic competition began. Alcaraz played brilliantly in recent weeks, but Novak Djokovic played one of the best matches this year and defeated the Spaniard.
Such are the games, that the pressure increases terribly, the fans build great expectations, it is difficult to cope with it. Iga reads this, it is not easy to cut off from external pressure. And in addition, she herself knew that when Sabalenka and Rybakina dropped out of the Olympic ladder, she was the main favorite.
Let’s remember that Iga Świątek and Carlos Alcaraz are still young players. You can see a certain decline in them after the games, in my opinion it is due to the huge mental burden. If a tennis player does not feel confident in his head, the game starts to fail.
However, I keep emphasizing that Ida deserves respect for the medal itself and the fact that she pulled herself together after the semi-final. It certainly cost her a lot of mental strength and after the games it seems to me that she was not able to pull herself together completely. Hence the weaker performance in Cincinnati, also with Sabalenka.
There are voices from commentators and experts that Iga Świątek lacks more variety in her game. How do you see it?
– I’ve been talking about it for three years and I’m still getting hated. I think Iga still has 20-30 percent of unused potential. We don’t know if she doesn’t want to or if others can’t bring it out. I really don’t know, I don’t want to speculate and look for guilty people. Iga is number one in the world, she does her job as best she can. She’s not a machine that will win every tournament and make all the changes we’re talking about. We have to accept that.
I agree with those who say that more variety in her game would be useful. Iga plays at one pace: and either she “sits” on the court or she doesn’t. You can’t see a plan B being introduced during the match. She doesn’t play shortcuts, for example. It’s a pity, because I’ve coached many players and I know that tennis players usually run poorly forward, they move much better behind the back line. Iga doesn’t use this, even when she has a half-court advantage, she wants to play with all her strength. This can be changed.
Who could she take inspiration from in terms of the changes she is implementing?
– Rafael Nadal has always been her role model. When you have a free moment, it’s worth watching the Spaniard’s match when he was 18, and later 28 or 34. It’s worth seeing how Nadal has developed technically over the years, in terms of specific shots, and has started going to the net. It’s similar with Djokovic. Iga’s rivals don’t stand still, they’re looking for other solutions, and in a moment they won’t be afraid of our tennis player.
Let’s not say that a sliver or a volley are new moves for her. I will point out to everyone how Iga presented herself on the court when she won Wimbledon among juniors. She sent shortcuts, slid shots. Of course, Iga will not change her style of play completely, because there is no need for it either, she wins most of the matches clearly. I am not on Iga Świątek’s team either, I do not want to lecture or criticize anyone. We do not know all the circumstances. However, from the sidelines it is clear that changes would be useful.
Eurosport commentator Lech Sidor suggested in a recent recording on the Meczyki YouTube channel that Iga Świątek could have introduced more other moves into the game during matches such as the second round of the US Open with Ena Shibahara (6:0, 6:1 – editor’s note): volleys, slides, action at the net. He argued that in such matches the Polish player has a huge advantage anyway, when a player with a much lower ranking (Shibahara is 169th in the world) is on the other side of the net. How do you see it?
– I agree with Lech 100 percent. I don’t really understand why Iga plays her best against such opponents. She doesn’t have to win every match 6:0, 6:0 or 6:0, 6:1. Let her win 6:3, 6:3, but she’ll try other strokes. Let’s look at how Nadal, Federer or Djokovic played their first matches in the Grand Slam. They gave only as much as they had to, or practiced other variants. When a player steps onto the court, he feels whether he’s better. Sometimes after two games I can see that nothing can happen in a given match for Iga, her opponent has no way of threatening her. In such matches, there’s room for volleys, shortcuts. Iga doesn’t show these moves when more difficult matches come or the duel is close. Then she avoids playing at the net, preferring to stand at the end line and send fast balls.
What can we expect at the end of the season? Before Christmas, tournaments in Beijing, Wuhan and the Champions’ Event in Riyadh.
– I think that everything will turn around in a moment, there are only the last starts left this year and the fans will once again sing with joy after Iga’s victories. Knowing her, I know that she will bounce back soon. If she regains some freshness and confidence, it should be good, and if she adds something new to her game, it will be hard for her rivals to keep up with her.
