Former World No. 9 Andrea Petkovic offered a measured perspective on the scrutiny surrounding Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff, urging fans and analysts to resist knee-jerk reactions to short-term losses. Petkovic emphasized that both players remain far ahead of most of the field despite recent setbacks, and she framed their struggles not as warning signs but as a natural part of elite sport.
Why Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff Are Facing Scrutiny in 2026
The conversation comes at a time when both Świątek and Gauff have faced heightened attention for very different reasons. Świątek recently ended her partnership with coach Wim Fissette after a brief but successful stint that included a Wimbledon title in 2025 and trophies in Seoul and Cincinnati.
However, her 2026 campaign has lacked the same dominance, highlighted by her failure to reach a semifinal so far this season and a surprising second-round exit at the Miami Open to Magda Linette, which snapped her 73-match streak of winning opening matches.
Gauff, meanwhile, has navigated a season marked by inconsistency and injury. Despite not reaching a final yet, she has remained inside the top 5, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals before losing to Elina Svitolina, enduring mixed results in the Middle East, and battling a nerve-related forearm issue that forced a retirement at Indian Wells before pushing through physically demanding matches to reach the Miami Open semifinals.
Petkovic addressed the reaction to such results head-on during Tennis Channel’s “Big T” podcast, calling out the tendency to overanalyze early losses.
“When Coco sometimes loses first round, everyone’s like, ‘Oh my God, she needs a whole new team.’ And these players are fine. You have watched them plenty. I have watched them courtside. I’ve played against both of them. They are so much better than many, many other players out there. They will be okay,” she said.
She continued by reframing struggles as part of growth rather than failure.
“It’s okay for tennis players to go through crisis. It’s okay for tennis players to lose early and refigure things out. It’s like life. You have to run against the wall to realize that this was the wrong path, and you have to take another one.”
Petkovic also urged fans to remember the human side of elite athletes.
“I would really love for people to just treat these players as human beings because that’s what they are. And we sometimes forget it because they do these astonishing things on the court, but they need to run into the wrong direction for a mile, return that one mile back, and then go into the right direction, as we all do in real life as well.”
Andrea Petkovic Explains Świątek’s True Strength on the Court
Turning specifically to Świątek, Petkovic offered a technical breakdown of what makes the Pole so dominant when at her best.
“And I will say, once she, if she does return to her DNA, who she is as a tennis player, which is being able to switch seamlessly between defense and offense, that’s what makes her so good, right?” she said.
Petkovic noted that an imbalance in either direction can disrupt Świątek’s rhythm.
“When she’s too offensive, it’s a little too far from her DNA. If she’s too defensive, it’s a little too far from her DNA. But when she combines those things, that’s when Iga is at her best.”
She also pointed out that technical improvements from her coaching tenures are not lost.
“At that moment, when she finds that again, she will be able to pull out the 110 miles per hour serve now because that’s what she learned with Wim Fissette, with Tomasz Wiktorowski. So it’s never lost, the things that you have worked on, even if maybe it didn’t work out the same way that you expected it to be.”
The 38-year-old further highlighted the significance of Świątek’s Wimbledon triumph as proof of growth.
“And they won Wimbledon together, a place where she never thought she could play well on, and she won it, and she destroyed in the semis and the final.”
Looking ahead, Świątek has begun her preparations for the upcoming clay swing, with her next appearance slated for the Stuttgart Open, scheduled for April 13–19.
Meanwhile, Gauff is set to face 13th seed Karolína Muchová in the Miami Open semifinals. The matchup will mark their sixth meeting on the WTA Tour, with the American currently holding a commanding 5-0 lead in their head-to-head record.
