Tennis
Tennis Buzz: Iga Swiatek’s Coach’s Dual Role Sparks ‘Conflict of Interest’ Concerns in Fresh Partnership
“I’m happy to announce that Wim Fissette is joining our team” – Ever since Iga Swiatek made this announcement, there have been a series of comments that have been coming in from several experts. Former players, like Andy Roddick, highlighted the difficulties of stepping into a coaching role in the middle of a season. That too, with a player as meticulous and talented as Swiatek! He raised a few question marks over Swiatek’s decision, asking, “Do you want to make a bunch of changes? Are you trying things out for the rest of the year?…” Recently, another former player Dominique Monami brought up a completely different angle surrounding Fissette’s new role in Iga Swiatek’s team.
Swiatek has already started training under the new coach and she will be next seen in action at the WTA Finals in November in Riyadh. After that, the Pole will also take part in the BJK CUP finals in Malaga, and this is exactly where we’re now finding some people raising their eyebrows. With Wim Fissette being the captain of Belgium at the BJK Cup and him also being the coach of Swiatek, will there be a “conflict of interest?” Belgium’s local media claim that already the situation is a bit “delicate” on this situation in their nation. Now, Monami speaks about it in a recent interview on the Belgian website dhnet.be.
Belgium has failed to qualify for the BJK Finals, so they’ll be playing play-offs in the next month. They’ll fly to Guangzhou, China for the playoffs without their star players- Elise Mertens and Greet Minnen. Speaking on the whole scenario surrounding Wim Fissette, Monami said, “Since taking over as captain, Wim Fissette has never been able to count on Elise. It’s a delicate situation, especially when the captain is also the coach of a tour player. We somehow find ourselves in the awkward position of sitting next to a coach who manages a potential opponent. This creates a conflict of interest and can cause tension that is unhealthy and can influence the girls’ decisions.”
She also raised a few question marks by stating, “If I were in Wim’s place, I would look for solutions, but maybe he doesn’t have the tools due to this conflict of interests. Moreover, since Wim Fissette has become Iga Swiatek’s coach, the inevitable question arises: will he continue to hold both positions? We can wonder what his motivation is and whether the Polish woman, who is very ambitious, will accept it.” Being one of the most sought-after coaches on the Tour has quite a few challenges on its own.
Apart from her clay court glories, Iga Swiatek hasn’t had any noteworthy performances in the rest of the major tournaments for quite a long time now! Can Wim Fissette bring success to Swiatek’s camp? According to tennis bigwig, Karel Knap, “I hope Iga and her team thought twice or even three times before agreeing to this arrangement. There is always a clash of egos in tennis teams. Fissette will have to adapt to the specific circumstances, that’s for sure.”
Renowned journalist Jon Wertheim raised a few concerns as well, mainly about how Fissette would co-exist with Iga Swiatek’s psychologist, Daria Abramowicz. He claimed that the psychologist’s “extraordinarily close” bond with Swiatek could potentially cause a few “complicated” dynamics inside the team. Amid all these reactions though, is there some optimism surrounding this new partnership? Well, yes!
Serena Williams’ former coach believes Iga Swiatek could achieve legendary status under Wim Fissette
Will the Wim Fissette-Iga Swiatek partnership be a super hit? Rennae Stubbs definitely thinks so. During a recent episode of her podcast, The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, she said “I think it’ll go great because Wim will come in with new ideas and fresh ideas, he’s a little bit and not a little bit he’s a lot more upbeat and a lot more positive than Tomasz (Wiktorowski). I think Iga will probably do great and will look like a legend.”
While Stubbs is quite optimistic about this partnership, she also seems a bit astonished by the fact that the renowned coaches who lose their jobs these days manage to find another one within days. The 53-year-old Aussie legend added, “The fact that these men just fail up, it just makes me laugh. I’m not saying fail like failed, but they get fired and then they get picked up in one week to work with somebody else. It makes me laugh so much.”
Apart from Stubbs, another tennis journalist, Chris Oddo also believes that this partnership could ignite Iga Swiatek’s ascent to new heights. According to Oddo, “Surely Wim will be able to look at her game with a fresh eye and give Iga a chance to constructively rethink her shortcomings.”
We’ve seen and heard quite a few reactions to this partnership now. While some are optimistic, the others are raising a few question marks! What are your thoughts on Iga Swiatek choosing Wim Fissette as her new coach?Do you think this partnership will be a success? Let us know in the comments below.