Iga Swiatek is now preparing for life without Wim Fissette, having split from her coach after the Miami Open.
Swiatek parted ways with Fissette after losing her opening match in Miami, where she suffered a shock loss to fellow Pole Magda Linette.
Coco Gauff has replaced Swiatek in the WTA rankings following the tournament, with the former now in third and the latter dropping to fourth.
She has now played 18 matches in the 2026 season, in which she holds a 12-6 win-loss record and has yet to claim a WTA title.
But dominating the focus around Swiatek is her split with Fissette, to which former doubles player Rennae Stubbs has now reacted.
Who should be Iga Swiatek’s next coach?
Rennae Stubbs thinks Wim Fissette confused Iga Swiatek on court
Sharing her take, she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast: “I did get the interpretation of what was being yelled on the court and a lot of it was all positive.
“Stick to the game plan, be positive. And it’s hard when you don’t understand the language and they are yelling back and forth.
“But a lot of that is also on Iga. You can’t lose your s— like that on the court. You have got to find the answers for yourself.
“As one of the best players over the last five years. You have to be able to tap into what you know is your best stuff on the court and not look to your player’s box for the answers.
“Those answers need to be answered on the practice court. You need to be able to feel what you want to do on the match court, on the practice court.
“You are not going to be able to change it or fix it on the match court, where you are under pressure. There is all the spotlight and all the expectation.
“Losing a point in practice is one thing, losing it in a match is a totally different thing because it actually counts.
“I think there probably needed to be a change in coaching at some point. There were some things that Wim was saying that was a bit confusing even to me.
“He said at one point in that match to step in and then two games later I heard him say step back on the return and change something up.
“I was thinking hold on a second, you are giving her mixed choices here. And Iga being an anxious Nelly out there on the court, you have to be really succinct with what you are telling her.
“I don’t know what gets told in practice or what they are working on in practice, so it’s hard for me to fully judge what is going on in the practice court and what happens in the match court and I’m sure he’s trying his very best on the practice court to get her going on the match court but certainly it’s being under pressure.
“Frankly I think if she didn’t win Wimbledon last year, he would have been fired after Wimbledon, then she wins and thinks let’s give it more time, this worked out really well.
“But her results over the last year have been pretty woeful for someone who was just dominating this game. She has to start looking at how she can get better.
“I think she needs to improve her serve, I think she needs to get more accurate with the serve, I think she needs to find the variety and bring back the drop shot, which she used to hit as a kid all the time.
“Go back and watch her in juniors of the first couple of years of her playing on tour. I think she is very robotic in her way of playing.”
Where do you think she will be ranked?
How has Iga Swiatek served on the WTA Tour in 2026?
It’s certainly an important moment in both the season and the career of Swiatek, who now turns her focus to the clay-court swing.
She definitely would have been targeting more success in the hard-court swing, particularly given that she started the season by winning the United Cup with Poland.
But things haven’t worked out for Swiatek in her four tournaments since then, which involved three successive quarterfinal exits before that opening loss in Miami.
And it may indeed be an improvement in her serve that can help turn her fortunes around, although that must now be achieved without the vast experience of Fissette.
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