Iga Świątek concluded her 2025 season at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the Polish champion encountered notable challenges against the world’s elite. Although the year yielded a prestigious Wimbledon title, questions have arisen regarding her inconsistent performance against top-ranked opponents, with her coach recently offering candid insight into the fluctuations that defined her campaign.
Wim Fissette Explains Iga Świątek’s Struggles Against Top Players Like Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Others
Świątek’s performance at the 2025 WTA Finals revealed mixed results against top-10 competition. While she delivered a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory over Madison Keys, she subsequently fell to Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 0-6 and Amanda Anisimova 7-6(3), 4-6, 2-6 during her round-robin matches. This highlighted the broader struggles she has faced when competing against the elite tier of professional tennis throughout 2025.
The statistical evidence paints a notably different picture than her previous season. She concluded 2025 with a 9-8 record against top-10 players, representing a significant decline from her 11-5 record in 2024. During the year, she suffered defeats to Coco Gauff twice, along with Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka, Jasmine Paolini, Amanda Anisimova, and Elena Rybakina.
Wim Fissette, Świątek’s coach, addressed these challenges directly when questioned about her declining record against top-10 opposition, offering his perspective on the realities of competing at the highest level.
“I don’t think there’s a real explanation,” Fissette told Sport.pl. “When you play against the world’s top players, it’s always going to be tough. The margins are very small. It all depends on when you’re playing them, what form you’re in, and what form your opponents are in.”
Three separate matches saw Świątek lose a set 0-6, marking the most bagels she has conceded in any single season of her career. These defeats included losses to Sabalenka at the French Open, Emma Navarro at the China Open, and Rybakina at the WTA Finals.
When questioned about these significant results, Fissette acknowledged the concern while contextualizing them within the realities of professional tennis competition. “I didn’t like it, and of course, Iga doesn’t like it either,” he explained. “Nobody likes losing like that, but it can happen. For example, the tournament in Beijing took place at a difficult point in the season. We always want to win three-set matches, fight until the last ball.”
Trener Igi Świątek, Wim Fissette, w długiej rozmowie z @dsenkowski07 ze https://t.co/i2eZnrKdhg: #IgaŚwiatek #tenis pic.twitter.com/TuU9yBoaE7
— Sport.pl (@sportpl) November 13, 2025
Despite struggles against elite opposition, Świątek remains a dominant force on tour and demonstrated her true capabilities when performing at a peak level. During 2025, she captured three tournament titles – Wimbledon, Cincinnati, and Seoul – with an impressive 62-17 overall match record. Her Wimbledon triumph was particularly dominant, where she defeated Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes, not dropping a single game in the final.
However, the overwhelming dominance characterizing her previous seasons was noticeably less evident throughout 2025, despite her significant accomplishments. During 2023, Świątek captured six titles, claimed year-end World No. 1 status, and recorded a commanding 68-11 match record. She won the WTA Finals championship that year without dropping a single set across any match, becoming the first player to accomplish this feat since Serena Williams in 2012.
While her 2025 campaign delivered substantial achievements, it reflected considerably greater volatility when facing elite opposition compared to her dominant performances in previous years.
