Swiatek’s mixed fortunes | Sports

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Call Iga Swiatek’s 2024 a trilogy. The clay side was generally spectacular. In the Madrid final against Aryna Sabalenka, Svetek fought off three championship points to win one of the best matches of the year. Next, a title in Rome.

Switzer’s spring swing comes to an end at Roland Garros. There, too, she recovered from the brink by overcoming a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round. After that match, Swiatek won ten straight sets to capture his fourth Roland Garros title in the last five years. Later, she returned to Paris and won a bronze medal at the Olympics.

Highlighted by hard court titles in Doha and Indian Wells, each without losing a set.

But side three raised troubling questions. At the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Swiec lost in the third round to 50th-ranked Linda Noskova in Melbourne, to No. 35 Yulia Potenseva at the All England Club. She then lost to fellow top tenner Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the US Open.

In each loss, Swetek was often dominant and more emotionally fragile than one would normally expect from someone so strong. Switek’s tactical weakness – particularly his lack of composure in transition – was also troubling.

After two straight years at number one, Switek finished ’24 in second place. Added to the mix was the blurring around the time of his drug-related suspension. Now we’ll see even more how this eternally studious player responds in the tennis classroom.

What’s coming in 2025?

We’ve seen it countless times in the most elite athletes: the horizon is clear, the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted, everything is going really well – until it isn’t. That’s the situation in which Iga Swiatek, who spent most of 2025 at No. 1, finds himself. She has a lot going for her if she hopes to regain the title she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in October.

First, though, let’s get the elephant out of the room. The 23-year-old Polish star missed the Asian Swing (setting the stage for Sabalenka’s ascent) with a one-month doping suspension after testers found a minute amount of the banned substance in melatonin Svetec, which he uses to combat jet lag. is doing

The power league could be more of an issue for Swiatek heading into 2025. The 5-foot-9 right-hander, already a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, has one of the most balanced, versatile games on the WTA Tour. But power still rules in tennis, and no one applies power like Sabalenka. She can take the racket out of someone’s hand. Her style borders on reckless abandon, but she’s also become less goofy. Switek won two of their three meetings with Sablanka last year, but one of those barnburners was decided in an overtime third-set tiebreaker on Switek’s favorite surface, clay, in Madrid.

Then there’s the threat from Coco Goff, whose biggest asset is his athleticism. Swetek is an excellent mover, but Goff is more explosive. It’s easy to forget that Goff is still only 20 years old, his game still has some rough edges. But after a disappointing US Open, Goff ended the year on a 13-2 run, including a round-robin win over Svetek as Goff captured the WTA Finals title.

The impetus for the streak was a coaching change, as Goff replaced Brad Gilbert with Matt Daley). In early October, Swiatek followed the same path, dismissing Tomasz Wiktorowski to partner the well-travelled Wim Fissette.

Swiatek’s first big test will be in Melbourne, Australia, where defending champion Sabalenka will be the favorite and Goff will be comfortable on hard courts. -Tennis.com