The last few weeks have been difficult for Iga Świątek. After three triumphs in a row (in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros), a crisis has come – the third round of Wimbledon, the bronze medal of the Olympic Games, the semi-final in Cincinnati and the quarter-final of the US Open. Her game is quite erratic. Aryna Sabalenka is in a completely different moment. There is no trace of the injury she suffered on grass courts and she is shining again, dangerously approaching the Pole in the WTA ranking – triumph in Cincinnati and the US Open. “The victory of the Belarusian has changed the balance of power in the WTA. The victory has meant that Iga Świątek is no longer the only dominant force on the tour” – warned journalists from the Tennis365 portal . Fans are wondering what is the reason for our compatriot’s worse form. Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick, among others, have tried to answer this question.
Tennis legends have advice for Iga Świątek: She should try to do what Sabalenka does
From their words, it can be concluded that Świątek is bothered by the pressure of being number one. Paradoxically, losing this title may help her get back on track. The Pole is too stressed. – When I look at Świątek, I only think one thing: I was like that too, I was so stressed. To this day, I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to relax more and take this 15th position in the world – Roddick blurted out in his podcast on YouTube .
– Who knows, maybe then I wouldn’t have made the decision to end my tennis adventure at the age of 30. I woke up one day and simply came to the conclusion that I can’t live like this any longer – he added. Clijsters also drew attention to this problem. In her opinion, the Pole lacks a bit of ease. Sabalenka, on the other hand, has it. This is what differentiates them.
Świątek is constantly focused, on the next game, on the next training session. Only tennis is on her mind. However, it is important to be able to switch off this way of thinking sometimes, to focus on something else. That is what you do when you dance, joke, just like Sabalenka – she emphasized.
Key weeks before Christmas
Now it’s time for Świątek to rest and recharge her batteries. The Polish player has already withdrawn from two tournaments after the US Open. We’re talking about the WTA 500 in Seoul and the WTA 1000 in Beijing. The withdrawal from the second tournament has especially worried fans and experts. “I have no idea what this could mean”, “it’s intriguing”, “it sounds a bit worrying” – they wrote on X. Świątek will most likely return to play in Wuhan. Then she should play in the WTA Finals, for which she has already secured qualification. However, it is not known whether she will be able to maintain the lead in the ranking.
She took over on April 4, 2022, and has only been dethroned once since then. It happened in the fall of 2023. At that time, Sabalenka jumped to the top of the rankings. The Pole’s break from the leader’s position did not last long, just eight weeks. Since then, she has been leading the rankings. In total, she has been at the top for 121 weeks.
