Following the Australian Open Grand Slam, most of the world’s top tennis players will return to action at the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi (February 6-12). Iga ¦wiątek decided not to perform in the United Arab Emirates. He will return to WTA competition a week later at the WTA 500 event in Doha (February 13-19).
The struggle to defend the advantage
The Polish woman is still the leader of the ranking. She has more than four thousand points advantage over the second Aryna Sabalenka. Before Świątek, however, a demanding task – to defend the points won in the spring of the previous year. It was then that her fantastic streak of 37 wins in a row took place. It just started with the win in Qatar. Then came successes at Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros.
– Iga is still adapting to the expectations placed on her at major tournaments. So this is the most important thing that the Polish woman needs to solve, because when she is nervous or feels pressure, it affects her whole game – argues journalist Tony Fairbairn from Ubitennis.net in an interview with sport.pl.
This was also the case at this year’s Australian Open, where Świątek was eliminated in the fourth round with Elena Rybakina. The event was won by Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Rybakina in three sets in the final.
– I work all the time to lower my own expectations. I know how to play and I actually demand it from myself all the time – admitted Iga Świątek in Melbourne. She added: “I wasted too much energy before the tournament and on the first day worrying.”
Comparison to Serena
The challenge is even more difficult because, as the leader of the ranking, Iga Świątek has to face exceptionally motivated players. “I still believe that Świątek is a better player than both Sabalenka and Rybakina, but she has to give 100 percent in every point, otherwise the wolves will come to hunt,” Roee Preis, a tennis journalist from the Israeli portal ynet.co.il, tells us.
And he adds: “It reminds me of how everyone said that Serena Williams would return after pregnancy and continue to win easily. The American reached four Grand Slam finals, but lost the title match each time. Iga is not close to Serena or what she has achieved in her career, but the principle is the same. Every player now wants to beat her badly. If she is not 100 percent ready mentally and physically in every match, she will be destroyed. No one waits for her or shows respect when the match is on.” .
Our interlocutor from Israel also refers to the example of Magda Linette. – I still remember how she came to us in Eilat every year for the Federation Cup, she sat on the bench during the representative performances of the Radwanska sisters. She always looked down and unsure of her game and suddenly reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. These girls work 365 days and develop every moment, emphasizes Preis.
Mentality and service
In terms of purely tennis, our interlocutors point primarily to the need to improve the service by Iga Świątek. “He needs to improve his second serve in particular because it’s ineffective against well-returning opponents,” points out Fairbairn. We found out about it even in Melbourne, where the Polish woman was shot from the return by Rybakina.
– The serve is a shot closely related to the mental side of playing tennis. Each player serves independently, without the participation of the opponent. So: mental development leads to improved service. This is the biggest challenge for Iga this year, because she has to deal with the pressure of being the best – believes Marco Mazzoni from the Italian portal Livetennis.it.
The Italian adds: “For sure, Aryna and Elena have a better serve. In this way, they can put pressure on their rivals. The pass is their great weapon, which Iga does not really have. Maybe the Polish woman will never serve as strong as the Belarusian and Kazaszka, but her first task should be to improve the accuracy of this strike.”
It is already known that Iga Świątek will remain the leader of the WTA until at least April. This means that he will hold the position of world number one for the full 12 months. Previously, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graff, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Ashleigh Barty enjoyed 52 consecutive weeks of reigning in the WTA rankings.
Source: Sport.PL
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