Kim Clijsters Believes Iga Swiatek’s Former Coach Could be a Good Match for Amanda Anisimova

Iga Swiatek has appointed Rafael Nadal's former coach Francisco Roig ahead of the clay season.

Kim Clijsters Believes Iga Swiatek’s Former Coach Could be a Good Match for Amanda Anisimova

Amanda Anisimova, Iga Swiatek, and Kim Clijsters (via X/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Kim Clijsters suggests Iga Swiatek's former coach Wim Fisette could be a good fit for Amanda Anisimova.
  • Anisimova has struggled this season, dropping to No. 6 in the ATP rankings after parting ways with her coach.
  • Iga Swiatek has appointed Francisco Roig as her new coach ahead of the clay season following a disappointing start to the year.

Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek have parted ways with their coaches in the past few days. The two top 10 stars have struggled on the court, and their performances have not been the way many expected. Former World No.1 Kim Clijsters believes Swiatek’s former coach, Wim Fisette will be best suited for Anisimova.

Last year was a breakout season for Anisimova as she made it to the final of the Wimbledon Championship and the US Open. Her first two Grand Slam finals before lifting the China Open. She was dubbed to win the Australian Open after reaching the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh last November.

But things have not gone smoothly for Anisimova this season. The rising American star started the year as World No.3 and, with so much promise, is currently No.6 in the ATP rankings and has lost 6 of her 17 matches this year. Given the disappointing run of form, Anisimova announced that she had parted ways with coach Hendrik Vleeshouwers last week.

Currently, there is no news on who Anisimova is looking to replace her departed coach with. However, it is worth noting that Swiatek recently parted ways with Fisette after a run of bad results this season. Fisette is one of the most experienced coaches on tour, having worked with Naomi Osaka, Qinwen Zheng, and Simona Halep, among other great women players.

Anisimova has a short period of time to get a coach as the clay season has already kicked off. She was supposed to be the second seed at the ongoing Charleston Open, but she pulled out of the event due to a hip injury. Speaking on the Love All podcast, Clijsters noted that Anisimova may pick Fisette as her coach, but stressed that she liked her partnership with Vleeshouwers:

We will see what will happen, maybe Wim [Fissette] or somebody could be the next step for Amanda. There are a lot of good coaches out there, we will see.I always said, I think I would really have enjoyed having him on the sideline, because he’s somebody who makes you feel like you’re the only player for him. The confidence that he gives you, and he is… he lives for his player, during those times that he works with you.

Anisimova will have to get things right during this clay season because, as of June, she will have a lot of ranking points to defend. The American star reached the later stages of tournaments from that period until November last year. Additionally, she made a fourth-round appearance at the Roland Garros last May.

Iga Swiatek appoints new coach ahead of her clay season campaign

While Amanda Anisimova looks to be contemplating which coach to hire, Iga Swiatek has already picked one. The former World No.1 has had one of her worst starts to the season, which has seen her being criticized. Some analysts have noted that she has lost her aura on tour and that no player fears her like before.

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

This year, she has not won a top 10 opponent, and the only top 20 opponent she defeated was Qatar Open champion Karolina Muchova in Indian Wells. Things got pretty bad for Swiatek at the Miami Open when she lost to Magda Linette in the second round, marking the first time she exited a tournament in the opening rounds in more than four years.

She admitted after the Miami shocker that she was confused, which led to her parting ways with Wim Fisette. There were rumors that she might seek coaches with more unique experience on tour, and the pointer went to her former coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, who is currently working with Naomi Osaka.

On Thursday (April 2), she announced that she has appointed Francisco Roig as her new coach on tour. Roig was a member of Rafael Nadal’s team for over a decade on tour and played a crucial role in his dominance on clay. Swiatek will be looking forward to using his experience at the Stuttgart Open, which begins on April 13.

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