Iga Świątek is in search of a new coach after splitting with Wim Fissette earlier this week.
Swiatek has been told that she has wasted a year and a half with Fissette, despite winning the 2025 Wimbledon Ladies Singles title under the Belgian’s guidance.
The Pole’s form has dipped significantly at the start of this year; and she will hope to reignite her season on the clay over the next two months.
Does Iga Swiatek now win the French Open after changing coaches? 🤔
Let us know your reasoning in the comments ⬇️
Swiatek is yet to win a title [aside from the United Cup] and recently said she was going through her ‘worst nightmare’ after losing to Magda Linette in the Miami Open second round.
Mark Petchey, the coach of Emma Raducanu, has offered his take on the split.
Mark Petchey says Iga Swiatek’s serve was a ‘big problem’
“I don’t think it was a huge shock,” Petchey said on the Big T podcast. “I had heard rumblings after Australia that maybe they were going to go their separate ways.
“For me the two big ones were that I think the serve was a big problem for her.
“They went through a few technical changes and if I’m being honest it looked like it was a bit more mechanical by the time we saw the finished product here, it looked like she was struggling to generate some pace on the second serve.
“And when your serve is not firing it really does affect the rest of your game. You feel under pressure right from the start of the rally when you feel you should be on top of it.
“Wim is an amazing coach but sometimes you can’t know everything and sometimes you try something when it comes to a stroke and actually it could be one of those cases where you think in theory it’s going to be better, but in reality it turns out worse.
“I would say that the serve definitely needs to get more fluid again. It definitely looks as though she is thinking about it and when you are thinking at the start of the point you react much slower to the ball coming back off the return.
Iga Swiatek’s 2026 season so far
- United Cup – Poland won the title
- Australian Open – Quarter-final loss to Elena Rybakina
- Qatar Open – Quarter-final loss to Maria Sakkari
- Indian Wells – Quarter-final loss to Elina Svitolina
- Miami Open – Second Round loss to Magda Linette
“And I would say the second thing, and maybe the more important thing, is rally tolerance.
“I really felt as though her rally tolerance had gone. One of the things that set Iga apart was her athleticism and her returns, and it felt like she was out of points much quicker than before, therefore her opponents did not feel under so much stress to go for shots on their side of the court as early as they had done before because she would extend them and eventually outmanoeuvre them.
Do you think Iga Swiatek will win a Grand Slam this season?
“She was not necessarily the Queen of the 0-4 shot period of the rally, she was much more dominant as it got past it and I felt like that was something that kind of changed.
“She was not getting the players off the court to create space a little bit more. It looks as though they have got very focused on the Sabalenka and Rybakina kind of opponent on a hard court where they are knocking her off the court.
“And that is understandable.”
Andrea Petkovic, the former world number nine, added: “I think Wim Fissette is a really good coach. There is no doubt about it, he has helped every player he has been by their side.
“Sometimes a partnership has run its course. Sometimes the things you say can be the truest thing that anybody has ever said to you but they just don’t pierce through.
Miami Open semi-finals
- Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina
- Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova
“I honestly think that for some people it’s difficult to comprehend that speaking in a language in very stressful moments that is not your first language sometimes does not pierce through the protective layers that we have on the court.
“I do think maybe Iga reacts better to Polish or the Polish language, or maybe reacts quicker to it. I just know that oftentimes I had Serbian coaches because they could speak a language in a very stressful moment in the match that Germans or English speakers couldn’t.”
Swiatek is set to take some time away from the competitive arena following her early exit in Florida.
The Polish star is slated to return for the Stuttgart Open, which will begin on April 13.
Who will Wim Fissette coach next?
Fissette is one of the most experienced and accomplished coaches on the professional tennis circuit.
The Belgian’s first employer was Kim Clijsters. Under Fissette’s tutelage, Clijsters won three of her four Grand Slam titles.
Fissette has also worked with Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka, both of whom won Grand Slam titles during the Belgian’s tenures.
The most notable name without a coach right now is Carlos Alcaraz, who parted ways with long-term coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in December 2025.
However, this may be unlikely considering Fissette has never worked with a player on the ATP Tour.
