Wim Fissette describes Iga Swiatek as "a stubborn person" as the Belgian coach admits it hasn't been easy convincing the Pole to try certain stuff, but when she does and feels well about it, that is a game-changer.
Following last year's US Open quarterfinal and her provisional suspension from tennis, Swiatek decided to end her four-and-a-half-year partnership with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. When she returned from her doping ban, the six-time Grand Slam champion officially started working with Fissette, who worked with Naomi Osaka for a couple of years in the past.
Early on in their partnership, Fissette failed to guide Swiatek to the targeted results. But then, a major breakthrough came on the Pole's least favorite surface when she won Wimbledon and ended her 13-month title drought in the most impressive way possible. Since then, the 24-year-old has also won her maiden Cincinnati title. However, it took some time before their collaboration fully clicked.
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Fissette: Swiatek is stubborn but it's natural if you're succeeding in a certain way
"She's a bit stubborn, but it's natural that if you're succeeding in a certain way, you want to stick to it. It is then not easy to convince yourself to do certain things a little differently. Sometimes you have to suffer several failures. During training, Iga is not a person who immediately accepts everything I say, but rather think about it, sometimes talk to other team members and finally try. And when he believes in something and feels that it works, he inserts it into his system quite quickly," Fissette told Rzeczpospolita.
After winning Wimbledon, an emotional Swiatek gave a special shout-out to her team and thanked them for sticking with her when things weren't going well.
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Meanwhile, the Polish tennis star and Fissette are currently in Seoul, where the Pole is the top seed and set to kick off her Asian swing.
