Agnieszka Radwanska Urges Critics to Not ‘Hate’ Iga Swiatek After Every Defeat: “It’s Not the End of the World”

Iga Swiatek once again crashed out of a singles tournament without reaching the semifinals. In her Miami Open first match, the World No.3, although she easily won the first set, eventually suffered a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat at the hands of Magda Linette.

And as expected, her opening-round exit sparked a barrage of criticism, given that before Miami, she lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Qatar Open, and Indian Wells. Even Swiatek later told reporters that losing in the opening round is the “worst nightmare” for a top player, that she has been “confused” lately and has been making “bad decisions“.

Amid her slump in form, she found a supporter in former World No.2 and 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska. The 2015 WTA Finals champion, during her interview with Canal+ Sport, urged the critics to leave her countrywoman alone.

I understand it perfectly, I know, I see what’s happening. I’m appealing to everyone to give her some peace and quiet and not to hate her every time she loses a match. It’s not the end of the world. This is sport, and there will always be bad moments. Sure, there are many things I would change and advise Iga, but I don’t think television is the platform to talk about it. I definitely know what’s going on there, and it’s not a matter of the day of the week; it’s a process. Many things have to align off the court for things to be good on.

The only tournament that Swiatek won this year is the United Cup with Poland. Next is the clay swing, and Swiatek will be seen in action at the Stuttgart Open, where eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko knocked her out in the quarterfinals last year.

Rennae Stubbs thinks Iga Swiatek might part ways with Wim Fissette

Since Swiatek added Wim Fissette to her team, she has produced mixed performance. The former World No.1 was struggling at the start of the 2025 season and even failed to reach a final on her favorite surface, clay.

Many put the blame on Fissette and expected Swiatek to fire him soon. But Swiatek progressed to her career’s first grass-court final at the Bad Homburg Open, and even though she failed to defeat Jessica Pegula, she ended her title drought by double-bageling Amanda Anisimova at Wimbledon. Swiatek also added the Cincinnati Open and the Korea Open to her trophy cabinet.

Because Swiatek is once again dealing with form issues, Serena Williams‘ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, thinks the six-time Major champion could end up splitting with the Belgian coach if she doesn’t perform well on the clay swing.

So, listen, we have spoken about it last year. I thought Wim Fisette was on his last legs last year. She wins Wimbledon and gives him basically eight more months left on his contract. He has to be under a lot of pressure going into the clay court season if she doesn’t pick it up and win a couple of tournaments.

Rennae Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Swiatek hired Fissette in October 2024 after parting ways with Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, under whom the 24-year-old won four Grand Slam titles, one WTA Finals, and also became the World No.1 player.

Last year on the clay swing, after losing the Stuttgart Open, she failed to defend three Big Titles: Madrid Open, Italian Open, and the French Open (where she is a four-time champion and was bidding for a four-peat). So far in her career, Swiatek has won 10 titles on clay, the last of which she lifted by defeating Jasmine Paolini at the 2024 Roland Garros.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Believes Joao Fonseca Has a Lot to Improve on After Their Clash in Miami

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