Iga Swiatek might be celebrating her 90th week as world No.1 at the Qatar Open but the Pole admits she is still learning in the sport.
The four-time Grand Slam champion returned to competitive tennis on Monday in Doha by defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1, in her opening match. It was the first time she had played on the Tour since suffering a shock third round defeat at the Australian Open last month. Swiatek looks to be back on track given her latest performance but admits that there is still room for improvement in her game.
Speaking to reporters, the 22-year-old believes she can be too aggressive at times in matches and is trying to find the right balance in her style of play. As to what the best balance is for her, Swiatek believes it is a combination of everything she has.
“I have times where I feel like I’m playing sometimes even too aggressively,” Tennis now quoted Swiatek as saying. “So I’m still learning how to balance that to use all these advantages that being a great defense player and having this ability to play high topspin and the balls that are going to push my opponent further from the baseline and on the other hand being able to sometimes go forward and play more flat.”
Trying to figure out when it is the right time to use a certain tactic during matches, Swiatek credits the support she receives from her coach. She has been mentored by Thomasz Wiktorowski since 2021 and under his guidance has won three out of her four Grand Slam titles. Wiktorowski has also previously worked with Agnieszka Radwanska.
“I feel like I can do both, but I feel like I still need to learn, you know, how to manage it the best way and pick the right solutions and right tournaments and right surfaces,” she said. “But my coach is really smart and he has a good eye, so he always tells me what will be the best option, so that’s really helpful.”
Swiatek is bidding to win the Doha Open for a record third time. She is the youngest player to have won 15 consecutive opening matches at WTA 1000 tournaments since the category was introduced.
