'Best Thing That Can Happen For Her Tennis': Wilander On Swiatek Losing No. 1 Spot
WTA
Iga Swiatek will lose her number one rank on the WTA Tour officially in a few days, and Mats Wilander believes it will do her good.
This year has been quite stressful for Iga Swiatek, who had to do much defending this year. After having an incredible year in 2022, Swiatek was faced with the prospect of defending many of those trophies and points.
She didn't do the best job, but she got a big one in Paris at the 2023 Roland Garros. Barely, but still got it done. After crashing out of the US Open and ensuring the loss of the number one rank, Swiatek released a few thoughts about defending in tennis, something she was asked about weekly in the previous months.
It was rather clear that she was fed up with the constant questions about it which is why Wilander thinks the loss might be the best thing for her tennis. She gets to move the spotlight away from herself allowing her to focus on what she loves most - working on her game and improving.
I think this is most probably the best thing that can happen for her tennis. There’s a reason for her to start working on her game again and figuring out what happens to her when she plays against big hitters now she doesn’t have to [worry about being world No. 1].
But she’s right in the statement about defending. We turn into a bit of a negative, we talk about defending, defending points, so I think it’s time for her to step aside and work on her game a bit.
She'll have plenty of chances to find herself again until the WTA Finals, which will take place in Cancun later this year. That is the next big event that she'd like to win as she failed in previous attempts.
