Iga Swiatek lost sight of what made her a great champion, with her new attitude on court allowing her to re-establish herself as a force in the sport.
That’s the verdict of seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Mats Wilander, as he suggested the Polish star who won her first Wimbledon title last month can now challenge for a seventh major title of her career at the US Open.
Wilander believes Swiatek allowed a negative mentality to creep into her game after a year that saw her endure a slump in confidence after she posted a positive doping test at the back end of 2024.
Her win at Wimbledon reignited Swiatek’s career and now Wilander is predicting the world No 2 will go from strength to strength as she eyes up a challenge to Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the rankings.
“I think Iga is more positive when it comes to her appearance on the court,” said Wilander, who will be part of the Eurosport broadcast team at the US Open.
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“I like the way that she played at Wimbledon to begin with. I think that she played a little less aggressively.
“I don’t think you have to be super aggressive all the time to win on either the men’s tour or the women’s tour. I think Iga has found her way again.
“She’s, to me, playing a little bit more on the other surface, the way that she plays on clay. She’s using the forehand, and sometimes plays it with a lot of top spin.
“I think she’s taken a step back out of the court. Of course, in Cincinnati, where she won, the courts were playing so fast that you have to be super aggressive.
“But I think Iga, there is less of a chance that she’s going to lose to a lower-ranked player when she has a better attitude.
“I think she understands her game on other surfaces, the way that she understands her own game on a clay court.”
Mats Wilander is part of the Eurosport commentary team
When asked to pick his US Open favourite, Wilander struggled to separate the two biggest names in the women’s game.
“Now Iga has started to play unbelievably well again and we know what happens when she plays well,” he said of Swiatek. “She’s not afraid of dominating the women’s tour, but you cannot count out Aryna Sabalenka.
“She’s had some bad luck in the last two Grand Slam finals that she was in, and in the semi-finals against Amanda Anisimova. So, she’s one of the favourites.
“To me, it’s pretty clear that Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the two favourites. They’re not afraid of winning. They’re both playing well enough. I think it doesn’t matter what Sabalenka has done in the last couple of weeks.
“But if they both come healthy to the US Open, I’m expecting the two of them to go through and reach their seeds, which should be in the finals.”
When asked to pick his dark horse for the title, Wilander admitted he didn’t have to dip too far down the rankings, as he backed world No 3 Coco Gauff to bounce back from indifferent form since her thrilling French Open win in June.
“Coco Gauff knows how to win majors and she proved that by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open final, when the conditions were terrible,” he added.
“Again, it shows what guts she has, but if Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka play their best tennis, I just don’t see how Coco Gauff can keep up with them.
“But then again, are they going to be able to play their best tennis against Gauff because she defends so well? It’s actually a compliment to someone like Coco Gauff, that when she plays, she often makes her opponents play worse.
“I think that she has to be careful in the earlier rounds, and the later she survives in the tournament, the more of a threat she becomes.”
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