Wim Fissette could be taking a page out of Coco Gauff’s book to help Iga Swiatek improve her game.
The Belgian coached the Pole for the first time at the WTA Finals, which was also her first tournament since the US Open.
Fissette was announced as the World number two’s coach in October after ending her three-year partnership with Tomasz Wiktorowski.
After watching Swiatek at the season-ending event in Riyadh, Rennae Stubbs thinks there is something the Olympic bronze medalist can add to her game, similar to Coco Gauff.
Which Coco Gauff shot does Rennae Stubbs think Wim Fisette will add to Iga Swiatek’s game?
Gauff defeated Iga Swiatek in the round robin stage of the 2024 WTA Finals. Gauff also defeated World number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, before overcoming Qinwen Zheng in an epic three-hour final.
While analysing Gauff’s performances in Riyadh, Stubbs credited her looping forehand from the back of a court as a useful shot to help her get back into the rallies and turn defence into attack.
The 53-year-old suggested that Fissette could begin to implement this shot in Iga Swiatek’s game, but it will be tricky given the way she hits her forehand.
“Wim Fissette said that he wants her to play further back in the court on a hard court because of the speed of the court and it will give her time,” she said on her self-titled Rennae Stubbs podcast.
“That in a way makes sense, it gives her more time to see the ball and she can finish on the forehand a bit more. But the problem with that is that the reason Coco gets away with playing so deep in the court with her forehand grip is that Coco is not afraid to throw up a high ball.
“Coco will throw the ball up in the air because she has her spin and she doesn’t have the racket head speed, it’s very different the way she hits her forehand compared to Iga. Iga swings through her forehand like a windscreen wiper real fast.
“Whereas Coco swings up and brushes up behind it. So for her when she is rushed on her forehand, rather than try and swing through it, which when she does she hits her forehand well but when she gets in a bit of trouble or is deep in the court with her speed – just like Iga – she is not going to try and hit it flat back. Iga wants to crush it still.
“Coco throws it up in the air, which is really hard to attack unless you come into the net, which no girl is coming into the net on that. So they let it bounce and then because of her speed Coco gets back into the point. Iga, I don’t think has that shot.”
Wim Fissette outlines goals for the 2025 season with Iga Swiatek
Fissette is still adjusting to life coaching Swiatek having been in the job for approximately a month. He became her new coach after parting ways with Naomi Osaka, who is now coached by Patrick Mouratoglou.
During an interview with Sky Sports at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Fissette spoke of his desire to help Swiatek improve her results on faster surfaces, following her success on clay.
“For sure our goal is to do better on the faster services, if we can improve the serve a bit,” the 44-year-old said. “I think on the fast surfaces sometimes she is trying to play the game of the fast players instead of keeping to her own game and going a bit further back.
“A bit more behind the baseline and still trying to play her heavy spin balls because that’s where she is so difficult to play because she plays with so much spin and the ball bounces off your racket.
“I feel sometimes when it goes fast, she tries to play faster than her opponent which is not really her game, so she should stay true to herself on the faster surfaces.”
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