It is easy to forget that Iga Swiatek is just 23 when you look at what she has achieved in her career.
The daughter of a former Olympic rower, within six years Swiatek has gone from an unknown figure in tennis to one of Poland’s most recognised public figures. Her resume includes 22 WTA titles with five of those triumphs being at Grand Slam tournaments. She has also won 10 WTA 1000 events and the 2023 year-end finals. In the standings, she has held the No.1 spot for 125 weeks which is the seventh-longest in history. As of April 24th, she is eighth on the all-time list for most prize money won by a female player with earnings of $35,224,252.
However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Swiatek, especially over the past 12 months. During 2024 she served a one-month suspension after testing positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ). An investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the failed test was caused by a contaminated non-prescription medication called melatonin which Swiatek took to treat jet lag/sleep issues. Her level of fault was deemed to be at the lower end of ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence’.
Doping case aside, Swiatek’s lack of silverware in recent months has been in the spotlight. She hasn’t reached a final since last year’s French Open. So far this season, she has reached the quarter-finals or better at every tournament played. However, she was heavily defeated in her semi-final match at the Madrid Open by Coco Gauff. It was later confirmed that she was playing in that tournament shortly after the death of her grandfather.
Given her rollercoaster run, what has it been like for Swiatek in her home country and how much criticism has she received?
“The media are trying to explain the position of Iga, but fans are very concerned,” Adam Romer, editor of Poland’s Tennis Klub Magazine, told Ubitennis.
“In Polish social media you can find a lot of discussions about Iga, her team, her play etc.
“I used to say she is a ‘victim of her own success.’ The last three seasons were great and now a lot of new fans don’t understand why she can’t win a tournament.
“This is a problem for these fans. Most of them don’t understand tennis, had never played and discovered this sport after 2020/21/22.”
Romer is not the only person with such a view. Dominik Senkowski has worked for Sport.pl since 2018 and is the founder of the YouTube channel Program Tenisowy (tennis programme). His book ‘”Queens of Polish Tennis: The Road to Iga Świątek” will be published later this month.
“The Polish media are quite critical of Iga Świątek, the fans are divided. Expectations for Iga are enormous, which is understandable,” said Senkowski.
“However, every defeat before – when Iga won many tournaments – was considered almost a national tragedy. Now, the influx of negative comments is even greater. Of course, not all fans or journalists, but the criticism is largely visible.”
Swiatek previously responded to her critics in an Instagram post published shortly after this year’s Indian Wells tournament where she was under fire for how she interacted with a ball boy. The ball boy threw a ball towards her which she hit back in his direction out of frustration. She described the standards she faces as ‘not healthy.’ Elaborating further, Swiatek believes she is labelled either a robot for not displaying emotion or branded hysterical for showing too much.
“Iga has had to deal with pressure for years,” said Senkowski.
“She also has a very difficult period behind her. The Paris Olympics, a change of coach, a doping case and suspension, the loss of the number one position, and recently we learned that her grandfather died just before the tournament in Madrid. A lot of it. That’s why she has some mental problems, which combined with her own and external expectations create a very big challenge.”
Maciej Trąbski is a correspondent for Przegląd Sportowy Onet who specializes in tennis and volleyball. He points out that Swiatek’s current confidence levels will undoubtedly be impacted by her form on the court.
“Iga may not be the most outspoken player on tour, but her recent comments suggest she’s aware of what’s missing in her game,” Trabski explains.
“In the past few days, she’s started mentioning her footwork — and that’s a concern. It used to be one of her biggest strengths, especially on clay. If she’s feeling off in that department, it’s understandable that her overall confidence has dipped. Movement has always been a key part of her dominance. Now that it’s not quite there, the margins get tighter. The good news is: she sees it.”
The psychologist debate
One of the main members of Swiatek’s team is her sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, who has been at her side since 2019. Some have claimed that Abramowicz, a former sailor who has also worked with national teams of both swimmers and cyclists, is the most influential member.
Dariusz Nowicki was the chief coordinator of ‘psychological preparation’ for Poland’s Olympic teams at multiple games. He has described the relationship between the two as ‘disturbed’ and voiced concerns that Abramowicz has crossed her professional boundary. Something he believes might result in “errors of perception” when it comes to her judgement.
“Social media’s criticism of Daria Abramowicz is widespread. She is more or less “the enemy number 1,” Romer explains.
So why has there been so much criticism pointed towards a person who Swiatek has credited for making her the player she is now?
“I get the sense that around last year — when Iga’s results started to dip a bit — fans began paying more attention to the behaviour and influence of her coaching team,” said Trabski.
“When Tomasz Wiktorowski (Swiatek’s former coach) left the team, the spotlight naturally shifted toward Daria, who is undoubtedly a strong presence in that team. It’s only natural that fans started asking questions.
“When results come easily, no one looks too closely. But when struggles begin, people start to analyze everything — from tactics to body language to who’s sitting courtside.”
Swiatek’s first coach, Artur Szostaczko, is another critic of the partnership. During an interview earlier this year, he said ‘all the boundaries between the athlete and the psychologist have been blurred‘ and that no other player ‘has a psychologist with them every day, almost 24 hours a day.”
All of this points to Abramowicz becoming more of a threat than a help to Swiatek. However, Senkowski argues there must be some perspective given to the situation too.
“We do not travel with Iga’s team all year long – and journalists have no way of doing that – it is difficult. Additionally, if Iga needs Daria on the team, then these negative voices are also somewhat pointless because the tennis player knows what she needs.” He said.
Does no trophies mean less popularity?
In August 2024 Swiatek was ranked the fourth highest-earning tennis player in the world with Forbes estimating the Pole earned $11.7M in prize money and $15M in endorsements over a 12-month period. Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were the only players to have made more than her.
Since this list was published, the Pole hasn’t won a title of any sort. The obvious impact of this is less prize money but has it had any effect on her popularity among tennis fans?
Google Trends is a tool used to analyze the popularity of search queries. When Swiatek is compared with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, there has been a notable change. In May 2024 Swiatek was clearly first when it came to who was the most searched out of the two, according to Google Worldwide. However, since then Sabalenka has massively narrowed the gap between them when it comes to Google searches, Google News searches and YouTube searches.
Regardless of the change, Swiatek’s popularity appears to have held firm in her native Poland. Romer described the tennis star as a ‘national treasure’ due to the records she has set, including winning her country’s first-ever Olympic medal in tennis and being the first Pole to become world No.1.
“Iga is and will most likely continue to be at the centre of attention for Polish media and fans. It’s enough to say she’s the greatest tennis player in Poland’s history — so the interest in her is natural.” Trabski said of the matter.
Meanwhile, Senkowski acknowledges it is possible that recent events have had an impact on Swiatek’s public image to some degree.
“When success returns, the critics will suddenly fall silent, I am sure,” he said.
“In the Polish Sportsperson competition for 2024, she took fourth place in January. In my opinion, too low, but that was the decision of the fans.
“The doping case and worse results in the second half of the year probably had an impact on this.”
Perhaps the best way to analyze Swiatek’s popularity in her home nation is to compare it with another sporting star. Footballer Robert Lewandowski is the captain of Poland’s football team and has scored 85 goals. He was a formidable figure in the German Bundesliga for 12 years, playing for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, before leaving for La Liga side Barcelona in 2022.
“Iga is as popular as Robert, and this is despite the fact that he is much older and plays football, which is more popular than tennis in Poland,” Senkowski commented.
“Our entire country lives for the matches of the football team, tennis not so much.
“Although the popularity of tennis is also growing.”
Romer adds that he considers Swiatek Poland’s greatest athlete in terms of an individual sport.
Swiatek speaks out
A couple of days after Ubitennis spoke with Romer, Trabski and Senkowski, it was Swiatek’s turn to break her silence on a series of issues. She is currently in Rome preparing for the Italian Open where she will be hoping to bounce back from her crushing defeat in Madrid. The tournament will be her last chance to compete with the world’s best ahead of the French Open which she will aim to win for the fifth time. A milestone that has only been achieved by two women – Steffi Graf and Chris Evert – in the Open Era.
Amid concerns about her current form, a Polish media report claimed that Swiatek’s team is considering taking an extended break from tennis if she doesn’t perform well in Rome and Roland Garros.
“I don’t get it,” Swiatek commented during a press conference at the Foro Italico.
“There are so many theories right now I would say especially in Polish media about me that are not true. I think, I don’t know, you guys like to make some articles that will attract people. I get it. It’s part of the job.
“But yeah, for sure I’m not going to skip Wimbledon. I really want to learn how to play on grass better. Every year is another opportunity. I will play Wimbledon, for sure, unless I get injured.”
On the same day, she addressed the criticism about her partnership with Abramowicz during an interview with SportoweFakty. Dismissing calls from some for the two to stop working together.
“No. People don’t know it, but practically every year there are different challenges,” she said.
“When I was suspended, I didn’t want to go out on the court at all for a few weeks. It was the most difficult experience of my career. Daria is a constant support for me, a person I trust. This is my team, I decide who is in it.
“I am irritated by headlines talking about falling apart or a mental crisis. Of course, sometimes I get annoyed on the court. Sometimes I’m not as focused as I’d like.
“But I work, day in and day out, week in and week out, to be better. So there is no reason to make strange judgments or look for fatigue or burnout.”
During the same interview, she also dismissed that her lack of success in recent months is linked to her coach Wim Fissette and insisted her level hasn’t dropped. Instead, she says the form of her opponents has improved.
Swiatek is the reigning champion in Rome and will be defending 1000 ranking points.
