Iga Swiatek’s coach Tomasz Wiktorowski claims WTA made a mistake by allowing Russian and Belarusian players to play as he comments on Aryna Sabalenka’s rivalry with the World No.1

Tomasz Wiktorowski pitches his thoughts on Russian and Belarusian players.

Iga Swiatek’s coach Tomasz Wiktorowski claims WTA made a mistake by allowing Russian and Belarusian players to play as he comments on Aryna Sabalenka’s rivalry with the World No.1

Wiktorowski has his say on Russian-Belarusian players' participation on Tour (Via Open Source/X)

Iga Swiatek has had a mixed 2023 season. It wasn’t the most comprehensive season, but whatever it was, she managed to be at the top. Swiatek lost her World No.1 ranking earlier this year after dominating that position for 75 weeks. She won her fourth Major at the French Open. However, things went downhill after that as Swiatek faced some unexpected resistance.

Swiatek lost at Wimbledon to Elena Svitolina, Coco Gauff at Cincinnati, and to Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open. These defeats stopped the momentum for Swiatek. However, come the China Open win, she was ready to turn her fortunes around.

Aryna Sabalenka took the opportunity of this and, owing to her good form, became the new No.1. She stayed there for just eight weeks, but this rivalry between the top two WTA players was making the headlines.

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Swiatek’s coach, however, has made a controversial statement regarding Sabalenka. As per welovetennis.fr, Tomasz Wiktorowski said, 

Do the matches against Sabalenka and the Russian and Belarusian players have a different context from other matches? No, at least from my point of view. A tense atmosphere always sells well. Likewise, the rivalries between Borg and McEnroe, Sampras and Agassi or Nadal and Federer were built on contrast. Was there politics behind these rivalries? That's right, and the WTA made a mistake by allowing the Russians and the Belarusians to play. But there is now no point in returning to this question.

These comments by the Polish coach might soon brew controversy. The Russian-Ukraine war has been a touchy subject in the tennis fraternity for a long time now.

The tussle between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka is still on

The duo last met at the semifinals of the WTA season-ending tour where Swiatek got the better of Sabalenka. Swiatek won the tussle 6-3, 6-2 to march towards the final and ultimately went on to become the champion of the season-ending tour.

This victory in the season-ending tour ensured that Swiatek ended the year as World No.1. Unlike her coach, Swiatek hasn’t commented on Sabalenka’s nationality.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek (image via: tennisnet.com)

Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have stood out as two of the most constant performers this season. The Polish have enjoyed the lead 6-3 each time both of them have locked horns. Sabalenka had an amazing year this season reaching the World No.1 ranking for the first time in her career and reaching the semis of the WTA season-ending tournament and the Wimbledon and US Open. However, the major highlight for her in this season will be winning the Australian Open.

On the other hand, Swiatek didn’t fall behind as she led the charge in victories and triumphs. After a halted middle half of the season, Swiatek made sure that she made a fiery end to the season by winning the WTA Finals.

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