Dawid Celt, the captain of Team Poland for the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Qualifiers, has recently shared his thoughts on the efforts he made to convince Iga Świątek to play for the team amid the changes she has undergone.
The Poland team is all set to clash with Ukraine in the qualifying round to be held from April 10 to 11 at the PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland.
Dawid Celt Reflects on Iga Świątek’s Absence From Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup Squad
After reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Qatar Open, and Indian Wells Masters and losing in the round of 64 at the Miami Open to fellow player Magda Linette, Świątek is training to improve her game. Following her heavy loss at the Hard Rock Stadium, she parted ways with coach Wim Fissette, with whom she started working in October 2024.
She has now hired Francisco Roig, who served as an alternate coach to Spanish legend Rafael Nadal from 2005 to 2022, and also earlier worked briefly with British star Emma Raducanu. Apart from them, he has also coached Matteo Berrettini and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Świątek has recently begun honing her skills at the Rafa Nadal Academy, learning directly from the legendary Nadal and the experienced coach, Roig. However, she will be absent from the qualifiers for the Billie Jean King Cup due to recent career changes. Celt, a former Polish player, commentator, and coach, shared his thoughts on her absence in an interview with TVP Sport.
Celt, who married former World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwańska in 2017, revealed how he tried to convince the Polish sensation to join the team, mentioning, “I fought until the very end to get Iga into this event and into our team. From the very beginning, I was fully aware that it would be a very difficult task. However, I tried to convince her and show her a slightly different perspective.”
He continued, highlighting Świątek’s coaching changes and the adjustments she had to make before moving forward in the season, adding, “There was a change of coach, some confusion around her, and the fact that she needs to sort things out. It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last.”
Celt also reflected that it’s not always possible to have elite players given their schedules, expressing, “I’m aware that it’s impossible to have her in the squad with us every time. However, I would really like it. I always fight for it, because that’s my job, but as I said, I’m aware that it’s not always possible.”
Poland’s best finish at the Billie Jean King Cup came in 2024, when they reached the semifinals for the first time, with Świątek playing notably. They lost to the eventual champions, Italy, in the semifinal stage.
However, the Poland Team will be moving forward with Magda Linette, Maja Chwalinska, Linda Klimovicova, Katarzyna Kawa, and Martyna Kubka. Whereas the Ukraine Team will feature Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Oleksandra Oliynykova, Lyudmyla Kichenok, and Nadiia Kichenok, captained by Illya Marchenko.
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