Iga Swiatek has had Maciej Ryszczuk as her physiotherapist for nearly six years now.
Swiatek has won six Grand Slam titles with Ryszczuk, but her form as of late has not been quite up to scratch.
This came to a head at the Miami Open, where Swiatek lost to Magda Linette in her only match at the tournament.
Following this defeat, Swiatek announced that she was parting ways with Wim Fissette, and now Ryszczuk has given his insight into the situation.
Maciej Ryszczuk reacts to Iga Swiatek’s split from Wim Fissette
Swiatek confirmed in her statement splitting from Fissette that she would be keeping all the remaining members of her team, including physiotherapist Ryszczuk.
Ryszczuk has now given his reaction to the split in an interview with Polish news outlet Fakt, where he declared that the most important thing is that Swiatek feels good, both on and off the court.
“The most important thing is that Iga feels good. These are her decisions,” said Ryszczuk. “Of course, she can ask us for our opinion, but it’s our job to support her, regardless of the decision she makes. It’s crucial that she feels good on and off the court. That’s our role.”
Who should be Iga Swiatek’s next coach?
Ryszczuk was then asked if he and other members of the team were consulted by Swiatek on decisions like this, to which he suggested that they had some input.
“Iga always puts the final touches on the project and makes the final decisions,” responded Ryszczuk. “However, in most cases, once she decides something, she consults with the team on further steps. She never plans everything from A to Z on her own.
“Even if she has a plan ready, she asks for our opinions to see if we agree. If we disagree, we simply discuss it further. Everyone is involved in the process, but the final decision always rests with her.”
Swiatek has been notably frustrated towards her team in recent matches, with some people claiming that she was annoyed by the amount of input her team were trying to give on the sidelines.
However, Ryszczuk has dismissed this claim, and instead suggested that Swiatek actually needed more guidance from certain members of her team in difficult moments.
“It’s easy to comment from the sidelines,” said Ryszczuk. “Lately, Iga has been partially expecting this. She’d ask for tips and advice at specific moments in the match. She’d tell everyone what she wanted to hear and in what situation, so it was based on her needs.
“I don’t want to judge anyone, but in the more difficult moments, which she herself described, she needed more support and guidance. If she didn’t always receive it, she’d ask other team members to chime in and contribute.”
Where do you think she will be ranked?
Maciej Ryszczuk suggests if Iga Swiatek will have a new coach for her next tournament
Following her split from Fissette, there has been a lot of rumors about who Swiatek could bring in to replace him as her new main coach.
There were even suggestions that Swiatek could coach herself, but it appears that will not be the case.
Swiatek’s next tournament is on the indoor clay of Stuttgart, and Ryszczuk has revealed that she plans to have a new coach by then.
“That’s the plan. Iga would like to work with the new coach as soon as possible, preferably at the next tournament,” said Ryszczuk. “Whether that will happen is still hard to say. We’ll see how the next few days unfold.”
Swiatek has been told to employ Piotr Wozniacki as her new coach, but there have also been rumors around the likes of Michael Joyce, Francisco Roig and Carlos Moya.
The situation is likely to become clearer ahead of Swiatek’s next tournament in Stuttgart, which begins on April 13.
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