Iga Swiatek’s Coach Reveals what the World No.2 is Working on Ahead of the Australian Open

Iga Swiatek will open her 2026 campaign at the United Cup ahead of the Australian Open.

Iga Swiatek’s Coach Reveals what the World No.2 is Working on Ahead of the Australian Open

Wim Fissette, Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Jimmy48 Photography)

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Iga Swiatek ended the 2025 season as World No.2, trailing Aryna Sabalenka in World No.1 by 2,475 points. The Polish star was arguably not at her best for the majority of the campaign, which led to her finishing in that position. However, she’s dreaming big for next season and has already begun preparation after having a short vacation in Mauritius.

Swiatek is seeking to complete a career Grand Slam next year by winning the Australian Open for the first time in her career. She earned her best run at the tournament last January after reaching the semi-finals. She was one point away from getting to the final, but a minor mistake led to her three sets loss against Madison Keys.

Should she win the Australian Open next month, she will become the first women’s player since Maria Sharapova and the 11th female player in the Open Era to complete a career Grand Slam. But that has to be gotten by hard work on the court. After a good end to the 2025 season, Swiatek is aiming to build on it.

She found her momentum on the court in the second-half of the season, during the grass-court season, reaching her first final of the year at the Bad Homburg Open. She then went on to claim her sixth Grand Slam at the Wimbledon Championship and ended up winning two other WTA titles before the season came to an end.

In an interview with her coach, Wim Fissette, on Break Point, he revealed that he’s working with Swiatek on the technical aspect of her game. He noted that they are completely focused on the first two shots, serve and return, while also seeking to dominate from the start against big servers in the circuit:

We’re actually really focused on the first two balls, so serve return plus the next ball, it’s something, especially if we look at the top eight right now, there are a lot of big servers, big hitters, big returners. Just important that Iga becomes better in that area becomes less predictable and also let’s say more comfortable when they when the opponents try to attack her from the first ball.

Swiatek never defeated her arch-rival, Aryna Sabalenka, in 2025. They faced off at the French Open semi-finals, where the Belarusian star defeated the former World No.1 in three sets. Also, two heavy-hitters, Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova, secured impressive victories against Swiatek at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Wim Fissette explains how Iga Swiatek’s game transformed in 2025

After the 2025 Australian Open, Iga Swiatek experienced a negative run on the court as she was unable to reach a final. Despite being dubbed Queen of Clay, she found herself unable to win a title during the red dirt swing and was surprisingly knocked out of the Italian Open in the third round despite being the defending champion.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/Iga archive)

During the aforementioned interview, Wim Fissette explained that after a run of terrible results, the team had to reconfigure their mindset, transforming the anxiety of defending points into a hunger for Swiatek to evolve in her game. Their objective didn’t lean on the rankings anymore and that was vital in the end:

It’s important – I think this year as well – that she made a good switch into her mindset of like ‘okay I want to develop as a player and I want to get better, and it’s okay that sometimes I’ll make mistakes when I try to do that’. So that mindset is obviously extremely important… because if you don’t improve you go backwards that’s clear for her.

Swiatek will kick off her 2026 season at the United Cup next month alongside Polish star Hubert Hurkacz. Both players will be leading Poland at the tournament. After that, the 24-year-old will compete at the Australian Open, which she aims to win for the first time in her career.

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