Mats Wilander gives brutal assessment of Iga Swiatek’s mental state amid worries about No.1 ranking

Mats Wilander urged Iga Swiatek to stop worrying about her rankings after the Pole revealed how losing her No.1 spot deeply upset her.

Mats Wilander gives brutal assessment of Iga Swiatek’s mental state amid worries about No.1 ranking

Iga Swiatek, Mats Wilander (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Clay)

Iga Swiatek lost her No.1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka last year due to her three-week provisional suspension and the Belarusian’s dominating performance on the hard court events. The provisional suspension was part of a one-month ban that was handed to the Pole because of trimetazidine contamination.

Swiatek did not shy away from revealing that she indeed was worried about her No.1 rankings this season. She was constantly chasing the top spot but her inability to reach the finals and claim titles along with Sabalenka’s successful runs only increased the points gap this season.

Sabalenka sits on top with 10541 points, which is 3000-plus points more than Swiatek’s 7470. The 23-year-old, after losing her cool during the Indian Wells semifinal against eventual winner Mirra Andreeva, hit a ball toward a ball kid which drew the ire of the tennis world.

Swiatek took to Instagram, writing a lengthy post to explain her conduct, and also revealed that her performance on the Middle East Swing was affected by her constant worries about her rankings as realizing that the doping case would keep affecting her rankings “deeply upset” her. Tennis great Mats Wilander, however, doesn’t think a player of Swiatek’s caliber needs to worry about rankings.

She’s worrying about all the things that you have to just tell yourself you should not worry about, which is, obviously, very hard to do. But to worry about ranking points from the previous year when you have been as dominant as Iga Swiatek and when you’ve been world No.1, and when you’ve already won a handful of Grand Slam titles… to worry about ranking points just tells you that you are not in a good state mentally.

Mats Wilander told TNT Sports

Swiatek hasn’t yet reached a final since June last year. She lifted her fourth French Open (third consecutive) title and later won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. In the recently-concluded Miami Open, Swiatek got knocked out in the quarterfinals after a straight-set defeat to Alexandra Eala.

Iga Swiatek makes a difficult decision about her schedule amid her struggles to win titles

Amid her struggle to win trophies, Iga Swiatek decided to put more focus on herself and her training. She has pulled out of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament in Radom, Poland.

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

I have made a difficult decision. I know that this is not the information that fans, especially Polish ones, wanted, nevertheless it is the right decision for me for now. I will not play in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tournament, which will be held in Radom. I always represent my country with pride. I played everything there was to play for the country last year.

Iga Swiatek wrote on Instagram

The tournament runs from April 10 to 12 and Poland will be locking horns with Ukraine and Switzerland. Last year, Poland was defeated in the semifinals by eventual winner Italy.

She has shifted her focus to the clay swing, which started with the Charleston Open in South Carolina. Swiatek is not playing in the tournament.

Iga Swiatek is the defending champion in Madrid, Rome, and Paris

Iga Swiatek is expected to end her trophy drought on the clay swing, for she, without a shadow of a doubt, is the best player on the red dirt in the WTA tour at present. Last year, except for the Stuttgart Open and the Paris Olympics, Swiatek won all the tournaments she played on clay.

Iga Swiatek Miami Open 2025
Iga Swiatek (image via X @JJlovesTennis)

She denied Aryna Sabalenka her second straight Madrid Open title, then again beat the World No.1 in the Italian Open final. At the French Open then, the five-time Grand Slam champion breezed past Jasmine Paolini.