Jimmy Connors shares his theory over why Iga Swiatek has lost form and tells her what to do next

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Iga Swiatek has struggled to show herself as the player that has won five Grand Slam titles in recent months.

Swiatek has been under pressure on serve in particular, which have been a large contributing factor in her recent defeats.

All of her past three losses have come against teenagers, including Swiatek being stunned by Alexandra Eala at the Miami Open.

Some have suggested that Swiatek’s Australian Open defeat to Madison Keys has played a big part in her loss of confidence, which former world number one Jimmy Connors appears to have noticed.

Jimmy Connors shares theory over why Iga Swiatek has lost form

Swiatek has been noticeably more frustrated at recent tournaments, as Aryna Sabalenka extended her lead at the top of the WTA rankings.

Sabalenka won the Miami Open, leading to Connors questioning whether Swiatek’s rival succeeding is affecting her own self belief.

When discussing this on the Advantage Connors Podcast, the eight-time major champion told Swiatek what she needed to do to return to form.

“Iga has fallen off a little from when she was dominating,” said Connors. “I wonder if she has lost a little confidence. Sabalenka has taken over and a lot of notoriety and titles have fallen her way.

“I wonder if Iga sees that, so what do you do? You have to work harder. When I would fall from number one behind [Bjorn] Borg or [Boris] Becker or [Ivan] Lendl I would just pull up my boots straps and get going and try to do anything you can to get back into the picture.

“Losing to Sabby [Sabalenka] is one thing but starting to lose to [a teenager] is a different story.”

Can Iga Swiatek catch Aryna Sabalenka during the clay court season?

After a relatively disappointing sunshine double, Swiatek has the chance to return to form on her favored clay courts.

Swiatek is a four-time Roland Garros champion, but has not reached a single final since the clay court major last year.

The Pole was particularly dominant on clay last year, winning three titles and losing just two of her 28 matches on the surface.

This included Swiatek and Sabalenka winning match of the year for their thrilling final at the Madrid Open.

With Swiatek being very dominant on clay in 2024, she is defending over half of her ranking points in the coming weeks and is unlikely to close the gap on Sabalenka in terms of the WTA rankings.

After Sabalenka missed Wimbledon due to injury, Swiatek will probably have to wait until the US hard court season if she is to attempt to become world number one again.

Swiatek will begin her clay court season at the Stuttgart Open, that begins on Monday April 21.

The 23-year-old has lifted two titles at the WTA 500 tournament held on indoor clay, with both of her previous final victories coming over Sabalenka.