Kim Clijsters Gives Her Take on Iga Swiatek’s Split with Coach Wim Fissette: “There Were a Couple of Red Flags”

When Iga Swiatek was struggling at the start of the 2025 season and also failed to reach a final during the clay swing, many thought her split with Wim Fissette was impending. But surprisingly, Swiatek performed exceptionally well on the grass swing.

She reached her first final on the surface at the Bad Homburg Open, and although she finished as the runner-up, the Pole shocked the tennis world by double-bageling Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final. Swiatek went on to lift the Cincinnati Open and the Korea Open.

But since then, she has yet to reach another singles semifinal. This year, after winning the United Cup with Poland, the 24-year-old exited after making the quarterfinals of the three tournaments she played.

Eventual champion Elena Rybakina knocked her out at the Australian Open, while Maria Sakkari beat her at the Qatar Open. After skipping the Dubai Tennis Championships, Swiatek’s Indian Wells run was ended by Elina Svitolina.

But in Miami, Swiatek suffered an opening-round defeat at the hands of countrywoman Magda Linette, and a few days later, she announced her split with Fissette. Former WTA player Kim Clijsters, who also worked with the Belgian coach, reacted to the breakup. She said in her Love All podcast:

And I think you come to a point that you can only… you have to look yourself in the mirror and make the changes and face your weaknesses and that tension. A lot of times, Wim’s very data-driven, which naturally he was like that. I was a very intuitive player, like I didn’t want to hear any stats. I didn’t care about the numbers, like in my brain, it does not work, but you know, for me, like that was something that would be very overwhelming. I don’t know what Iga is like. But yeah, sometimes you want to have an open mind.

Fissette joined Swiatek’s team in October 2024 after she parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski. It was the first time Swiatek hired a non-Polish coach.

But you could see that there was tension already for a few months and frustration, and that their natural kind of player-coaching relationship wasn’t really where it should be at, and I think those were a couple of red flags.

Kim Clijsters added

While Swiatek won Wimbledon under Fissette, she lifted four of her six Majors under Wiktorowski and also reached the year-end No.1 ranking for the first time.

What’s next for Iga Swiatek?

Next is the clay swing. Iga Swiatek is considered the current best clay-court player, given that she has won 10 of her 25 singles titles on the surface, including four Roland Garros trophies.

In 2024, she won four of the six titles she lifted on clay courts, winning her third consecutive Roland Garros title by breezing past Jasmine Paolini. But last year, after losing the Stuttgart Open final to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko, Swiatek lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the semifinals.

Then at the Italian Open, Danielle Collins eliminated her in the third round, while at the French Open, where Swiatek was bidding to complete a four-peat, eventual runner-up Aryna Sabalenka clinched a three-set win and even bageled her in the third set.

Because of Swiatek’s exits in the quarterfinal stages, she dropped to the third spot on the rankings table. If two-time Grand Slam singles champion Coco Gauff reaches the Miami Open final, she will remove Swiatek from her position. Gauff will face Karolina Muchova in the semifinal, and if she wins, she will meet World No.1 Sabalenka or World No.2 Elena Rybakina in the final.

Also read: Iga Swiatek’s Physiotherapist Dives Into the Coaching Shakeup After Miami Open Exit

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW