In a sport where personal achievements take precedence, it is worth mentioning the role of tennis coaches can sometimes snuck under the radar.
Even though tennis players compete independently, their success relies on the collective efforts of their coaching team. The WTA does an excellent job of recognizing the men and women pulling the strings behind the scenes who are equally responsible for players' performance.
The WTA is commemorating its annual Awards Week to celebrate the standout performers of 2023 - not just players but coaches too. Iga Swiatek, crowned the WTA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, has a case for a double celebration.
Swiatek's coach Tomasz Wiktorowski bagged the 2023 WTA Coach of the Year award, which was voted for by WTA registered coaches. Wiktorowski is one of the sharpest tennis minds from Poland and has been working with Swiatek since the start of the 2022 season.
Like Swiatek, the 42-year-old hails from Warsaw and has previously coached Agnieszka Radwańska, one of the most prominent Polish tennis players, between 2011 and 2018. He played tennis at a junior level but chose to pursue a career in coaching at an early age.
Wiktorowski has also served as captain for Poland's Billie Jean King Cup team (formerly Fed Cup) and coached Poland's Olympic tennis squads in 2012 and 2016. But his most notable work has been evident in full view while working with Swiatek.
Under his tutelage, Swiatek has won three Grand Slams and helped his compatriot to develop into one of the world's top stars. Wiktorowski is also credited for instilling an aggressive approach in Swiatek's baseline-oriented game.
Swiatek has also achieved something that no other WTA player has managed before. Because of her unmatched success during the season, she helped not just one but two of her coaches pick this award. The first time it happened was in 2020 - her breakout season in which she won her first Grand Slam.
Swiatek helped her longtime coach, Piotr Sierzputowski, to win the 2021 WTA Coach of the Year and is now the only woman to have two Coaches of the Year awards next to her name.
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