The former number one has issued a big statement about the 39-time major title winner.
Karolina Pliskova’s time at the top was frustrated by failure to secure a grand slam, despite two visits to major finals.
The huge server was ranked first among her WTA tour mates for eight weeks during the summer of 2017, but spent much longer around the top 10.
A US Open final defeat came five years before her loss to Ashleigh Barty in the Wimbledon final.
The 32-year-old has had mixed success this year with a WTA 250 title in Romania in February coming amidst a relative lack of form.
However, now floating around the top 50, Pliskova has broadly been unable to break through the new cohort of talent.
Karolina Pliskova claims Iga Swiatek is harder to beat than Serena Williams
In four contests with Serena Williams, Pliskova managed to win half, despite the American getting the last laugh at the 2019 Australian Open.
With no wins in three attempts against the current world number one Iga Swiatek, Pliskova made a shocking revelation on the No Challenges Remaining podcast.
“Serena didn’t like players which are playing fast and serving well, so I felt like she was struggling a little bit with my game,” she said.
“Even the matches which I lost to her, I felt like it was even, you know, she would never kind of guilt me like she did some players. Then once of course like I beat her, I always had the belief that, okay, I can beat her.
“To play against Iga Swiatek is much harder because she doesn’t give you anything. With Serena, in the end her game was much more aggressive or like [Maria] Sharapova who I played. But they would at least give you light points or make some mistakes.
“I feel like Iga Swiatek is not so aggressive but she really gives you nothing and she doesn’t even have one dip where she would have like one bad game, at least in the matches where I played her,” she revealed.
With Swiatek having won four French Open titles, making it three back-to-back in June, Pliskova praised the Pole’s clay court game.
“Especially on clay, she moves so well. I felt like with Serena, if you can get her on the move you could have some light points.”
Pliskova rather notoriously lost without winning a single game against Swiatek in the 2021 Rome final.
Serena Williams’ status at the best female player ever is not under threat
At 23 major singles titles, Williams’ legacy remains firmly intact.
Moreover, her ability to win majors across all three surfaces not only highlights her remarkable ability to vary her strategy, it also points to an impressive longevity.
Swiatek and Williams just about missed each other with the Pole reaching the heights of the WTA tour after Williams had more or less retired.
Differing game styles is something Pliskova is right to highlight, with the American using her brute force to scoop up her many titles while Swiatek has often adopted a game that relies on her superb movement and agility.
While a match-up will only ever happen in an exhibition setting, the tennis world probably ought to just relax and appreciate two champions in their own right.
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