Iga Swiatek being held back by her mental game proving too costly for her, claims Barbara Schett

Barbara Schett claims that mental setbacks are the main factors that is holding Iga Swiatek from performing her absolute best.

Iga Swiatek being held back by her mental game proving too costly for her, claims Barbara Schett

Iga Swiatek and Barbara Schett (Credits: L/R tennisnet.com)

Former Austrian player, Barbara Schett, in a recent talk with Eurosport, has claimed that one of the main challenges that Iga Swiatek faces is her own mental setback that she must overcome in order to win more tournaments in the upcoming season.

The Eurosport expert and retired tennis professional believes that if she focuses on her mental game and is confident in herself, she might be one of the toughest players to beat on the WTA tour. Speaking further, the Austrian added:

With Iga, I always feel like it's a matter of her mental approach, how much she believes in herself. It shows the way she hits her forehand, sometimes she can get a little bit shaky on that shot when she has doubts. So if she's fresh mentally, if she believes in herself, she's going to be hard to beat.
Barbara Schett in an interview with Eurosport
YouTube video

Iga Swiatek has had a reasonably good season this year with the Polish lifting the French Open earlier this year. She had a rough phase after her shocking defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round of the US Open after which she lost her World No.1 rank to Aryna Sabalenka after holding it for quite some time. However, the Belarusian did not have the pleasure of holding it for long as the 4 time Grand Slam champion was quick enough to reclaim her lost rank after her dominating performance to clinch the WTA Finals title in Mexico.

FS Video

Barbara Schett also spoke about how the Polish feels most comfortable on clay and it is difficult to defeat her once she is quite confident in her game and her strokes. However, the Austrian feels that players like Aryna Sabalenka can give a tough time to the World No.1 in hard-court tournaments due to her aggressive and powerful strokes on those surfaces.

Barbara Schett believes Iga Swiatek can win big titles in the next season

In the sense of Grand Slams, the Pole has had a decent year winning only one in this season.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek ( Credits: SportsPro Media)

The former Austrian pro is of the opinion that the World No.1 must win her mental battles to produce more victories on the court. Speaking about her 2023 Grand Slam season, the Austrian stated:

I see her winning big titles again. For her, probably the year was pretty average in terms of Grand Slams. She only won one. I would be happy to win one Grand Slam title in the past, but she's just won one. And I think that's the main focus, that she brings her best tennis.

It will be interesting to see how Iga Swiatek overcomes these challenges in the upcoming season to try and win more Grand Slams and perform well especially on the hard court tournaments. For her, the Australian Open and the US Open will be in more focus in the 2024 season.

In Case You Missed It: