The expert surprises about Iga ¦wiątek. “She acts like the 50th female tennis player in the world”

The first Grand Slam tournament in 2023 is behind us. In the final of the Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. This is the first title in the career of 24-year-old Sabalenka. A year younger than her, Rybakina became the Wimbledon champion last season.

Sabalenka and Rybakina a challenge for Świątek

From Monday, Sabalenka is the new runner-up in the WTA ranking. Rybakina debuted in the TOP 10 in 10th place, and if you add her points for winning in London, she would even be sixth. The lack of points is the result of the penalty that the Women’s Tennis Organization imposed on Wimbledon – and in practice on players – for excluding Russians and Belarusians from the previous edition of the tournament.

Iga ¦wiątek has been the world’s first racket for over 44 weeks. The Polish woman was eliminated in Melbourne in the fourth round after losing to Rybakina 4: 6, 4: 6. According to the interlocutors of Sport.pl, both finalists of the Australian Open will pose the greatest threat to the ¦wi±ki throughout this year’s tennis season.

– In the top ten of the ranking there are only three tennis players who won the Grand Slam tournament – Świątek, Sabalenka and Rybakina. I suppose this year’s competition will be between them – says Jon Wertheim, editor of “Sports Illustrated” magazine, author of books on tennis and basketball, expert.

– I believe that Aryna will be more dangerous than Elena throughout the season, but paradoxically Idze will find it more difficult to compete on the court with a tennis player from Kazakhstan. Rybakina moves even better than Sabalenka. In exchanges with these opponents, the first strikes are crucial so that the Polish woman is not immediately at a disadvantage – analyzes Mario Boccardi from the Italian portal Sportface.it in an interview with us.

George Bellshaw from the British podcast “Tennis Unfiltered” also draws attention to the atomic plays of the finalists of the Australian Open. – Both are a big threat to Iga because of the power of their strikes. However, I would still place the Polish as the favorite against them – 60 to 40 – although it is true that the Belarusian and the Kazakh have been developing rapidly recently – points out Bellshaw.

And he adds: – Rybakina lacked regularity in WTA competitions, but she showed that she can go far in Grand Slam tournaments and outplay the most dangerous opponents. Sabalenka has long since jumped to the highest level, and now has made another breakthrough. I still believe that Świątek will rule this season, and the increase in form of Sabalenka and Rybakina will be valuable for the competition in women’s competitions.

For a long time, there was a lot of thought about who could be the biggest challenge for Iga Świątek. In the previous season, the names of Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff were mentioned, then Jessica Pegula. Today, experts talk most often about Aryna Sabalenko and Elena Rybakina.

Service and mental side to be improved?

What does the 21-year-old from Raszyn need to improve to successfully compete with the greatest opponents? Boccardi pays attention to the service. – The main problem is the first serve with which Iga should score more points. Much depends on how Iga mentally approaches the challenge of comparing her to Sabalenka and Rybakina. Being the favorite is a privilege and it should be perceived as such, not something that requires you to win at all costs.

Wertheim also points to the mental side. – The real field for improvement lies in Iga’s mental preparation. She is a charming, self-aware, adaptable person. Sometimes it doesn’t translate into competitive sport, believes the American journalist.

What does he mean? She refers to the last Netflix series “Break Point”, telling about the fate of tennis players in 2022. – At one point, Chris Evert (women’s tennis legend – ed.) says in the series about Ajla Tomljanović (34th player in the ranking) that she should be meaner, though she put it in nicer words, and grow fangs. Iga is number one in the world, a future tennis legend. Sometimes she acts like the 50th tennis player in the world filled with lack of self-confidence. It’s a lovely feature, but it can get in the way of perfecting the game – our interlocutor believes.

This is a somewhat surprising but interesting assessment. Surprising, because from the Polish perspective, Iga Świątek is considered a confident player, but our American interlocutor has a slightly different opinion on this subject.

The British expert calms down

Bellshaw takes a different approach. – There are not many elements in Iga’s game that would require a huge improvement. She was beaten at the Australian Open by a top class player and these things happen. If she continues to approach games the way she has for the last 12 months, she will win a lot more than she loses and will finish the season as world number one.”

And she adds: “Keeping up the enthusiasm and hunger is a challenge and other tennis players will be desperately trying to beat the world number one.” However, Iga has quality in the game and a head on her shoulders, so I’m sure she will rise to any challenge she faces.