Iga Swiatek, at her fourth participation in the WTA Finals, comes to this event having made significant changes. In the media day of the year-end Masters in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), the Polish player touched on many topics, one of which was her rivalry with the new WTA No.1 Aryna Sabalenka. The Polish player honestly admitted that the Belarusian deserves to be the world No.1.
“Of course we are both fighting for the WTA No.1. Yes, it was basically us the last few years. I am in the tournament. Of course I want to play my best match here and win this tournament. I will just focus on my first match and take everything step by step. Aryna is a great player, she deserves to be No. 1 in the world. I will definitely fight to be there. It was nice to train with her because we haven’t done it for a while, probably since 2022. It’s been a long time. I don’t really know why, but it was a really good training,” explained the Pole.
On her physical condition, Iga analyzed: “I don’t feel rusty. I played some points here with Aryna and Qinwen. I also trained like this. I don’t feel like I lost much. Honestly, it wasn’t a very long break, probably a little longer than a normal pre-season. I’ve been focusing these weeks on finding a new coach.”
Talking about Wim Fisette, the 5-time Grand Slam champion explained: “I would like to improve my serve, as I have done in the last few years. I feel like I need to continue doing it, I am not a complete player. Tactically, there are many ways in which I could have more variety on the court. Wim has good ideas about that. We have prepared for this tournament and got to know each other a little better. We will talk about the real changes during the preseason. It is important to understand that this is a long-term thing, if I want to have a long and balanced career. In the future I will have to make some difficult decisions. For example, more experienced players decide to skip some tournaments to give their best in the Grand Slams. Novak Djokovic is a good example to watch.”
