Swiatek was beaten in the Wimbledon quarterfinal, while Sabalenka suffered a semifinal defeat.
Coach Patrick Mouratoglou thought Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka “never looked very comfortable” on the grass during this year’s Wimbledon. Before the start of the tournament, many had Elena Rybakina as the No 1 favorite and Swiatek and Sabalenka were also among the top favorites for the title.
Swiatek suffered a surprise defeat to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal, while Rybakina was beaten by Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinal – the Tunisian also defeated Sabalenka in the semifinal. In the end, the Wimbledon final was played between Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova.
Jabeur, who was beaten by Rybakina in the 2022 Wimbledon final, lost her second consecutive final at The Championships as Vondrousova became the unlikely winner at The All England Club this year.
Mouratoglou on Swiatek and Sabalenka’s Wimbledon exits
“I don’t think we are back to unpredictable tennis on the women’s side, I think it’s just the grass that makes it.
It’s a very special surface. I think guys in a way adapt a little better better than women. If you look at Iga Swiatek, you never felt during the tournament that she was very comfortable on the grass. Same for Sabalenka. The only one that feels comfortable on the surface is Rybakina.
I mean lately she’s not playing good, so she was unable to play her best and win. So yeah we had surprising players. I mean not Ons, because it was her second final here, so it’s not a surprise. I think she was back to a very good level.
But the winner, Vondrousova, was a big surprise. I think when you reach one Grand Slam final, you can only envision you doing it because you have done it already. She probably didn’t say to herself ‘I’m going to reach the final of Wimbledon this year’
That’s probably not the case. But match after match, Vondrousova believed she could win the next one and the next one and the next one until she reached the final because she has already played in a Grand Slam final and she believes in herself.
She benefitted from a game that fits the surface extremely well. And the fact that Ons was under much pressure to win such a heavy favorite in the final that it was too much pressure to handle. I think the combination of the two made her the winner,” Mouratoglou said in a video uploaded on his Instagram.
