Iga Swiatek had two big announcements to make on Friday as the Pole revealed that she was ending her three-year partnership with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski before also confirming that she wouldn't be ready to return to action at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan next week.
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Since completing a three-peat at the French Open and improving to five Grand Slams, the world No. 1 didn't manage to get the results she wanted this past summer. That included shockingly losing in the Wimbledon third round, failing to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and also not making it past the US Open quarterfinal.
While Swiatek is still regarded as the best player in the game, there is no doubt that she is now much more vulnerable than in some of the past seasons. And with that in mind, the 23-year-old probably feels that she and Wiktorowski can't help each other anymore and that she needs a new voice.
Swiatek: We had a goal, and we accomplished it...
"After 3 years of the greatest achievements in my career, together with my coach Tomasz Wiktorowski we decided to part ways. I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating our work together," the Pole announced.
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Shortly after hiring the Polish coach during the 2021 offseason, Swiatek went on to have one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory in 2022. During their time together, she won a total of four Grand Slams - the WTA Finals - and also became the world No. 1 for the first time in her career.
"Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for 3 seasons, when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game. His experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I've never dreamed of only a few months after we started working together. Our main goal was to become No. 1 1 player in the world and coach Wiktorowski was the one who said it first. We aimed very high, we headed to every tournament with a clear goal to win it. Together with coach Wiktorowski we won many tournaments and 4 Grand Slams," she noted.
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In the same message, the world No. 1 shared that she plans to give herself a couple of weeks before naming her next coach.
Shortly after this announcement, the Pole also pulled out of Wuhan. Previously, Swiatek skipped Seoul and also this week's tournament in Beijing due to "personal reasons."
