Iga Swiatek's new coach, Wim Fissette, revealed that he knew about her doping case before making a decision to join her team.
Only recently, Swiatek made a surprising choice to part ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski after three years of working together. It was a decision that no one expected, especially since she was the World No. 1 player on the WTA Tour at the time.
Relatively shortly after that, the Polish player hired Wim Fissette, who previously worked with Naomi Osaka, to join her team. However, what many tennis fans didn't know at the time was the fact that Swiatek's doping case was already ongoing.
Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), and that was something that her new coach was made aware of before deciding to join her team.
Fissette recently spoke to The National, explaining that he had trust in Swiatek's innocence after he was told about the case, which is also why he chose to join the team, building a sense of trust between the two.
"Trust is a foundation of good relationships in our team from the very beginning. Iga told me about the case and left me the decision about our cooperation."
"I have been observing her for a long time, her values, her work ethic, her standards. I was confident that she is innocent from the start, so it did not influence my decision about joining the team."
The 44-year-old was also aware of how difficult time it was for Swiatek and her team. Ultimately, they managed to win that fight, and the 23-year-old player was allowed to continue competing.
"It was an extremely stressful and difficult situation for Iga and for the whole team. Nevertheless, Iga is a fighter on and off court, this was another tough battle she won. Now we will focus together on the next season supporting each other and working as a team."
Not focusing on the doping case, which is now already over with the Polish player having only a few days of suspension left, there are plenty of reasons why Fissette wanted to work with Swiatek.
The 44-year-old Belgian admires the intensity that the former World No. 1 player is able to bring not just to every match but also to every game and rally, something that might remind fans of her idol, Rafael Nadal.
"As a coach, it’s a dream to work with someone like Iga. Everyone has watched matches of her, but also probably practices, and just the intensity and the focus she brings, she's determined, she's on a mission every moment that she's on the court."
"It's something that I always admired in her. The focus that she brings also in the matches, she starts the match and it's like 100 per cent energy, 100 per cent focus, and she keeps that literally every single point of the match."
"That's what I always admired in her. She is already super successful, but I also think we can develop her, there's more margin to grow, and I hope we will be able to do that."
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