Agnieszka Radwanska has advised Iga Swiatek to “work on how to handle the pressure” following the Pole’s shocking Australian Open round-of-16 loss against Elena Rybakina.
Swiatek, who won two Grand Slam titles last year, was the No 1 favorite for the Australian Open title.
But Swiatek’s run came to an end in the round-of-16 following a 6-4 6-4 loss to Rybakina.
After losing to Rybakina, Swiatek admitted the pressure was too much for her and she crumbled under it.
“I think she’s going to have a really tough season because of all the pressure from last year. She is defending everything, pretty much every single week, so it’s hard, and it’s not easy that everybody wants to beat you because you are world No. 1. She really needs to work on how to handle the pressure, that’s the main key. But I think that she’s still going to do great things this year, and she’s just lost against Rybakina, who just won Wimbledon, so it was a tough one. Rybakina was playing solid tennis from the beginning until the end, but the season’s not over, so I think she’s still going to do great,” Radwanska told Eurosport.
Radwanska thinks Swiatek ‘needs to work on how to handle the pressure’
Last year, Swiatek enjoyed one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory.
Also, Swiatek set a new record for the most consecutive wins in the 21st century on the WTA Tour – the Pole won 37 consecutive matches last year.
After a very dominant 2022 season, Swiatek was tipped to add more Grand Slam success to her name in 2023.
In the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, Swiatek failed to deliver.
In four months, Swiatek will try to defend her French Open title.
Clay remains Swiatek’s top surface and there is no doubt that she will be considered the top favorite for the French Open title.
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