Iga Swiatek has been warned that her relationship with psychologist Daria Abramowicz is “disturbed” and that the “professional distance” between the two has been crossed.
World No 2 Swiatek and 37-year-old Abramowicz began working together in February 2019, when the tennis star was just 17 years old.
Since then, Swiatek has gone on to become arguably the leading player of her generation, winning five Grand Slam singles titles and spending 125 weeks as the world No 1.
The Pole’s partnership with Abramowicz has long been praised as a key factor in the 23-year-old’s success, though their relationship has been under scrutiny in recent days.
Swiatek was widely criticised for appearing to slam a ball towards her team – close to a ball boy – during her Indian Wells semi-final loss to Mirra Andreeva.
The world No 2 has since spoken about the incident in a detailed social media post, though Abramowicz herself has also faced criticism.
The 37-year-old was seen shouting from the stands during the semi-final, and now leading Polish sports psychologist Dariusz Nowicki has claimed “certain boundaries” between Abramowicz and Swiatek had been crossed.
Speaking to Interia Sport, Nowicki was damning in his assessment of the “disturbed” partnership.
“If we were to look at this relationship only and exclusively from the point of view of strictly psychological workshop, then it is indeed a disturbed relationship, in which certain boundaries of professional distance between the psychologist and the client are crossed,” he said.
Asked further about the potential risks, Nowicki warned that Abramowicz could be at risk of “errors of perception” in her judgement due to a lack of distance between her and Swiatek.
Nowicki added: “Unfortunately, most errors in perception occur when emotions are aroused. Regardless of whether these are positive or negative emotions, then we make errors in the accuracy of observation.
“A certain psychological distance in relation to the client, who is the athlete, or in general to the training team, which is with the athlete or team, is essential.
“Someone in this group must maintain some common sense and emotional self-control, and the psychologist should be such a person the most.
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“While coaches allow themselves to have quite big emotions in starting situations, being a co-participant in this event, a psychologist professionally involved in sports psychology should be able to keep their distance and not get involved in emotions.
“Only then will they be able to function effectively within their professional competencies.”
Swiatek is yet to respond to Nowicki’s comments, and is set to get her Miami Open campaign underway on Friday.
Much like in Indian Wells, the Pole will face Caroline Garcia in the second round – with all seeded players having received an opening-round bye.
Swiatek will look to win her second title at the tournament, having previously triumphed at the Miami Open back in 2022.
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