"Andre Agassi also skipped Wimbledon" - Iga Swiatek's coach sees no reason to panic about World No. 1's unflattering record on grass
At the age of 21, Iga Swiatek has three Grand Slam titles already -- two on clay and one on hardcourts. Grass, however, has been a hard surface to master for the World No. 1, whose best result at Wimbledon has been reaching the fourth round, despite her being a junior champion at SW19.
The Pole's coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, however, doesn't see any cause for concern just yet, stating that it is normal for players to do poorly on one surface compared to others.
Speaking in a recent interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Wiktorowski recalled how even the great Andre Agassi skipped Wimbledon at times because he didn't like playing on grass as much. Similarly, he pointed to Roger Federer winning just one Grand Slam on clay, implying that Swiatek's case was par for the course as well.
"Andre Agassi also skipped Wimbledon for three or four years because he didn't like playing on grass, several other players had problems with different surfaces, Roger Federer only won once in Paris on clay," he said.
When asked if that meant the 2023 Wimbledon Championships would not be a priority for Iga Swiatek, the coach begged to differ and stated that her team sent her into every tournament with the idea of winning. While Wiktorowski was not certain when fans would finally see the World No. 1 winning at SW19, he made it clear that good results will most definitely come soon for her on grass.
"We go to every tournament to win and that's how I prepare Iga Swiatek, although I think that this year she really didn't feel that she could win this tournament," he said. "I won't answer the question of when it will be, but just as I was convinced at the beginning of the year that this is the girl who can become number 1, now I feel that one day good results at Wimbledon will come."
Wiktorowski further added that his protege was still working on her volley and slide, declaring that he will not stop until the three-time Grand Slam champion becomes as complete a player as possible.
"We're still working on the volley and the slide, but there's no reason to add elements to your training that obviously weren't needed to make her No. 1," he said. "My goal is clear: I want her to be [complete], which is not I know when it will happen, Iga Swiatek was a technically complete player so that she would have all the tools necessary to win."
"The Grand Slam titles have changed everything" - Tomasz Wiktorowski on Iga Swiatek's marketability quotient
Tomasz Wiktorowski also touched on Iga Swiatek's signing for IMG Tennis in the interview, commenting that the move did not change anything for her professionally.
At the same time, the Pole admitted that it was a necessary change, especially after the World No. 1 won two Grand Slams in 2022 and rocketed herself into stardom from a marketability point of view.
"Absolutely nothing, especially since I've known these people for years and they do their job very well," he said. "It's different, of course, because we're in a different place. The Grand Slam titles have changed everything, they are the most important in managerial and business relations."