Rennae Stubbs explains why Iga Swiatek ‘goes back to panicking’ after noticing one mistake in her game

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva stunned World No.2 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Open.

Rennae Stubbs explains why Iga Swiatek ‘goes back to panicking’ after noticing one mistake in her game

Rennae Stubbs, Iga Swiatek (Images via X, Rennae Stubbs website)

Iga Swiatek recently lost to Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships. She was bidding to win her first title of the season but the 17-year-old easily beat her en route to her first WTA 1000 title.

It was Swiatek’s second defeat on the Middle East Swing following her semifinal exit at the Qatar Open where Jelena Ostapenko improved her head-to-head record against the Pole to 5-0. Serena Williams‘ former coach Rennae Stubbs observed that the 23-year-old struggles on fast courts and starts to panic.

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The one thing about Iga, when she gets on to those faster courts, is that she panics again. She goes back to panicking, not hitting high balls, and change of pace. There were a couple of shots she came into the net on and everybody knows who listens to me commentate that you do not go in on a cross-court forehand.

Rennae Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Stubbs said if she coached Swiatek, she would explain to her the tactical errors she made on big points. Swiatek is currently coached by Wim Fissette who joined her team last year. Following her Dubai Open exit, Swiatek was seen rejecting the Belgian coach’s handshake.

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Iga Swiatek enjoys NBA game ahead of Indian Wells

Iga Swiatek recently attended the NBA clash between the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets at the Chase Centre. She was overjoyed when she appeared on the jumbotron and the crowd started to cheer for her.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

Following a much-needed downtime, the World No.2 will get back to training to defend the Indian Wells, which starts on March 3. Swiatek had blamed the WTA schedule for her defeat to Mirra Andreeva as she complained that she didn’t have enough time to practice before tournaments.

For sure it’s a calendar thing. Like, we’re not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week by week. But I feel like for sure the calendar is not helping, again, like, we need to switch surfaces, we need to switch the balls. Yeah, it’s not easy.

Iga Swiatek had said at the press conference

Swiatek is yet to win a title since the 2024 French Open. She started the 2025 season at the United Cup and helped Poland reach the final once again. The five-time Grand Slam champion then fell to eventual champion Madison Keys in the semifinal of the Australian Open.