In Pictures: Iga Swiatek makes rare appearance amid prolonged tennis absence; gets clicked with new coach Wim Fissette for the 1st time
Iga Swiatek was recently spotted with her new coach, Wim Fissette, amid her prolonged tennis absence. The Pole, who is gearing up for a comeback at the 2024 WTA Finals, posed for pictures with young fans during the rare appearance.
Swiatek hit pause on her 2024 campaign after her US Open quarterfinal defeat to eventual finalist Jessica Pegula. In the days following her New York exit, she withdrew from the Korea Open, citing fatigue. Owing to “personal reasons,” the 23-year-old then pulled out of the WTA 1000 in Beijing, where she was the defending champion.
Just days later, Iga Swiatek announced her surprising decision to terminate her partnership with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who coached her for three years and was responsible for 19 of her 22 titles, including four Grand Slams.
The Pole continued her absence as she decided against competing at the WTA 1000 in Wuhan. She subsequently revealed that she had kicked off her new partnership with Belgian tennis coach Wim Fissette.
"It’s always crucial to try and get to know each other better but we’re off to a good start and I can’t wait to compete soon," Iga Swiatek said at the time.
Recently, Swiatek, who has been training in Poland ahead of her WTA Finals title defense, was captured for the first time alongside her new coach. The pair gave autographs and posed with a few young fans at the DeSki Squash & Tennis Warsaw Sports Association.
Check the pictures below:
Iga Swiatek's coach Wim Fissette on their new partnership: "Our goal is definitely to start adding more Grand Slam titles"
Wim Fissette boasts a rich resume, having coached multiple World No. 1s and Grand Slam champions, including Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, and Simona Halep.
Notably, he coached Osaka and Clijsters to US Open and Australian Open titles, while Kerber won the 2018 Wimbledon Championships under his tutelage. In tune with his repertoire, Fissette recently shared that he and Iga Swiatek plan to expand her Grand Slam prowess beyond the French Open.
Swiatek has won four of her five Majors on the claycourts of Paris (2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024), with her solitary hardcourt Major trophy coming at the 2022 US Open.
"Our goal is definitely for Swiatek to start adding more Grand Slam titles on other surfaces as well," Fissette recently said, according to Eurosport.pl.
"After Paris, there is time to move on to other surfaces. Then there will be an opportunity to work on the game on other surfaces and try to achieve success there," he added.
Iga Swiatek, who lost her World No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka on Monday, October 21, will look to reclaim the spot during her and Fissette’s first official collaboration—the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh (November 2-9).