Iga Swiatek Admits She’s Struggling to ‘Figure Out’ How to Win Ahead of Roland Garros Title Defence

Iga Swiatek will be bidding to win her first title in Paris since lifting her fourth French Open title last year.

Iga Swiatek Admits She’s Struggling to ‘Figure Out’ How to Win Ahead of Roland Garros Title Defence

Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

Iga Swiatek is back at Roland Garros, where no WTA player has achieved more success than her in recent years. She will not be the first seed for the first time since 2022.

This season she has dropped to the fifth position in the rankings table because of her trophyless run in the tournaments she played after winning her fourth French Open title last year. Since that victory, the Pole also has not yet progressed to the final.

Many believe the doping scandal is to be blamed as Swiatek last year in August tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine and was handed a one-month ban, for which, she was harshly criticized. She was expected to end her trophy drought on the clay swing.

In Stuttgart, she lost to Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals, to Coco Gauff in the semifinal of the Madrid Open, and to Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open. In Madrid and Rome, she was the defending champion.

The Roland Garros draw ceremony was held on May 22 and Swiatek there was asked about her French Open campaign. She said that she just needs to figure out certain things to play better tennis in the crucial moments.

For sure this season had more ups and downs than the years before, but I know my game is there, I just need to figure out how to use it in the most important moments and in the best way during matches. That’s it. Tennis is a sometimes complicated sport, but we should make it easier in our heads, so I’ll just start step by step.

Last year in Paris, Swiatek breezed past reigning Italian Open champion Jasmine Paolini to win her third straight Roland Garros title. The World No.5 will kick-start her campaign against Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova.

Boris Becker makes his feelings known on Iga Swiatek’s coach Wim Fissette

Iga Swiatek parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski last year and hired Belgian coach Wim Fissette. As the partnership hasn’t yet produced good results, Fissette has been facing a lot of criticism.

Wim Fissette, Iga Swiatek
Wim Fissette, Iga Swiatek (Images via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

Boris Becker, who himself has worked as a coach, said the French Open will be crucial for the Swiatek. He thinks that if the five-time Grand Slam champion fails to produce a decent performance, then she could fire Fissette from her team. He said during the Becker Petkovic podcast:

He is one of the best tennis coaches in the world. He knows how to do it. He has coached Grand Slam Champions. Only sometimes, the chemistry between coach and player just doesn’t fit. That doesn’t mean he’s bad or has no idea. Sometimes the chemistry doesn’t work. Wim is far from a bad coach. But I think there will be a change after Paris.

Before Swiatek, Fissette worked with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. He was also a part of former Grand Slam winners Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber.

Iga Swiatek is chasing history at the Roland Garros

Swiatek hasn’t lost a match at the French Open since 2022. She has a winning streak of 21 matches. If she ends up winning the title, she will become the first woman in the Open Era to take home four consecutive titles in the tournament.

Iga Swiatek (4)
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Only Martina Navratilova (Wimbledon) and Chris Evert (US Open) have won four consecutive titles at a Grand Slam tournament. Swiatek is currently tied with Sloane Stephens for most wins at the French Open (among the active players) as they both have won 35 matches each. Swiatek’s win in Paris will also make her the first woman in more than a century to win the title four consecutive times after Jeanne Matthey and Suzanne Lenglen.

Also read: “It’s Annoying and Frustrating,” Emma Raducanu Provides Worrying Injury Scare After Crashing out of the Strasbourg Open