Serena Williams’ childhood coach Rick Macci thinks “it is Iga Swiatek and then the rest” on the WTA Tour. Following Ashleigh Barty’s shock retirement from tennis, Swiatek replaced the former three-time Grand Slam champion as the world No 1 on April 4th, 2022.
Since then, there haven’t been any changes at the top spot and Swiatek has established herself as the best and most dominant player in the women’s game. Also since Barty’s retirement, 22-year-old Swiatek has won three Grand Slams and now she has a total of four Grand Slam titles.
This year, Swiatek has gotten bigger competition in the names of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina but Macci believes the Pole is still “a leader in the clubhouse.”
Coach Macci: It’s Swiatek and then the rest on the WTA Tour
“Yeah, I feel it’s Iga and then the rest, just because she’s proven she has four grand slams in her pocket, you know, in her back pocket, you know, three French to me, she’s a leader in the clubhouse.
You know, mentally, she’s proven to me, I’ve been there, done that. And she’s not gonna wobble as much as the others because there’s more glue in her game. She finds angles on the court. I mean, she makes some amazing angles, you know, but I love how she competes, and she checks enough boxes that she, to me, stands alone.
But that being said, anybody can beat anybody. But she’s shown me more consistency mentally, you know? That’s what I see now. Rybakina, sure she’s capable. Sabalenka is capable, there’s other people capable,” Macci told Tennis-Infinity.
After defending her French Open title, Swiatek made her first Wimbledon quarterfinal this summer. Later this month, Swiatek will also try to defend her US Open title. At the US Open, Swiatek will undoubtedly be one of the top favorites for the title and it will be interesting to see if the Pole can win her fifth Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows.
