Iga Swiatek: World no 1 hires Naomi Osaka’s former coach Wim Fissette

Iga Swiatek has hired Naomi Osaka’a former coach, Belgian Wim Fissette, as her new coach.

The wprld No1 announced two weeks ago that she had split from Tomasz Wiktorowski after three hugely successful years together in which she won four grand slam titles.

That news came soon after Naomi Osaka ended her partnership with Fissette, with Swiatek turning to the 44-year-old.

Fissette has established a reputation as arguably the leading coach on the WTA Tour having previously worked with Kim Clijsters, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, Johanna Konta and Angelique Kerber.

Swiatek posted on social media: “So, I have news for you today as I’m excited and motivated to start a new chapter.

“I’m happy to announce that Wim Fissette is joining our team. As you know, I’m preparing for the WTA Finals but my perspective is, as always, long term, not short term.

“I said many times that my career is a marathon for me, not a sprint, and I’m working, operating and making decisions with this approach. I want to say that I’m very excited and looking forward to working with Wim.

“He seems to have a great attitude, vision and huge experience at a very top level of tennis. It’s always crucial to try and get to know each other better but we’re off to a good start and I can’t wait to compete soon.”

Swiatek won her fourth French Open title in June but failed to make it past the quarter-finals at any of the other grand slams and will hope Fissette can help her improve her results away from clay.

He first linked up with Osaka ahead of the 2020 season and guided her back to the top of the game, with the Japanese star winning US Open and Australian Open titles.

While Osaka was away from the tour having her first child, Fissette briefly worked with China’s Zheng Qinwen, but that ended sourly when the Belgian decided to return to Osaka’s team ahead of her comeback.

Her progress has not been as swift as she had hoped, though, and she opted to part with Fissette and hire Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Swiatek missed the Asian swing amid her coaching change and will return to the match court at the WTA Finals in Riyadh next month, where she faces a battle with Aryna Sabalenka for the No 1 ranking.

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?

• Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20 – Dan Evans in action)
• Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
• European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
• Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
• Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
• Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
• Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
• Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
• Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.