Iga Swiatek has enjoyed the most successful year of her tennis career so far, and her coach believes she is capable of getting even better.
The 21-year-old reached world number one status in April following the retirement of Ashleigh Barty, and since then, she has dominated the WTA Tour.
ÅšwiÄ…tek’s mentor Tomasz Wiktorowski has revealed where the Polish trailblazer has improved the most during her unstoppable rise.
How has Iga Swiatek improved her game?
After her astonishing 37-match winning streak, the longest on the WTA Tour in the 21st century, it’s no secret ÅšwiÄ…tek is one of the most powerful players in the world right now.
Wiktorowski took some time to reflect on their year together, discussing which areas the two have been working on as they look to improve ÅšwiÄ…tek’s game even further.
“From a technical point of view, Iga improved serve the most this year. I have confirmation of this in numbers,” he told journalist Dominik Senkowski. “For example, the final of the US Open was won by Iga primarily with serve — especially in the first set.”
Parts of my interview with coach of Iga Swiatek @iga_swiatek , Tomasz Wiktorowski
“I expected Iga to reach such results. I didn’t know if it would be with me or next coach. A year ago I hardly knew Iga personally. It’s weird that we passed each other but that’s how it turned.†pic.twitter.com/9ix2X53DD5
— Dominik Senkowski (@dsenkowski07) November 29, 2022
Swiatek secured her third Grand Slam title in September after winning the US Open for the first time. She dropped sets on just two occasions and bounced back every time with vigour.
With hard and clay court major titles now in the bag, all that is left for Swiatek is to succeed on grass. This is something Wiktorowski says will come as they look to develop the world number one’s overall technique.
“It won’t be a particular challenge. There will come a moment when we start thinking about grass. But generally, we mainly think about developing Iga in every direction, which should also give her better tools to feel more confident on grass.”
What did Iga Swiatek win in 2022?
Swiatek won eight of the 17 tournaments she played in this year, including her first US Open.
She also took back her French Open title after defeating rising star Coco Gauff in the final.
Other notable victories included the elusive Sunshine Double, consecutive Indian Wells and Miami Open triumphs. Swiatek is just the fourth woman to achieve this feat.
After her magnificent run, the 21-year-old finds herself with a staggering 6,030-point lead in the WTA rankings. She also scooped a mouthwatering £8.34 million in prize money, finishing just shy of Novak Djokovic as the highest-earning tennis player of the the 2022 season.
