Iga Swiatek is the undisputed world No 1 in the women’s game, but tennis legend John McEnroe suggests she still has a big area in her game that needs to be improved.
Even though Aryna Sabalenka won two Grand Slam titles in 2024, Swiatek has a strong lead at the top of the WTA Rankings, but her defeat against Jessica Pegula in the US Open quarter-finals sparked a debate over her tactical approach.
Swiatek’s all-out attacking game tends to blow most of her rivals away, but she has shown some signs of frailty.
Speaking at a Eurosport event, McEnroe suggested Swiatek needs to develop a defensive game to make her attacking firepower, which could make her an unstoppable force.
“One issue for me is she doesn’t want to play defence at all,” said McEnroe.
“At times, she should pull back when the offence isn’t going as well as it can do on clay. She keeps trying to hit out, which is somewhat surprising for someone who prefers a slower surface.
“I was a little surprised that she is either unwilling or unable to make adjustments on the faster surfaces.
I don’t know if she had a dip in confidence, but if you saw someone like Iga digging in and defending as well as she attacks, that would be hard opponents to overcome.
“I’m a little surprised she has not made that adjustment, but she is young. Hopefully she can make that adjustment and improve a little at the net.
McEnroe went on to claim Swiatek’s early exit at the US Open was due, in part, to her decision to play at the Olympic Games, with a lot of the shock defeats in New York affecting players who played in Paris.
Swiatek pleaded with tennis chiefs to amend the schedule to give players more weeks of rest during the season, with McEnroe suggesting the Polish star may feel under pressure to play due to requests from sponsors and the WTA Tour.
“You can see that all the players who were at the Olympics are struggling physically and mentally,” he added.
“It’s tough to go from clay to grass, back to clay for the Olympics and then straight onto the hard courts. That’s not easy.
“You look at all the guys that won the medals at the Olympics and they lost early at the US Open, especially in the men’s draw.
“You look at Jessica Pegula not playing the Olympics and she got on a roll on the hard courts, but it was tough for Iga.
“I’m not close enough to her to know what she needs to do. We know she’s a great player, but she has spoken about scheduling being an issue.
I don’t know if she needs to play some events due to sponsors, but maybe she needs to take a step back at some point and appreciate what she has done.
“She should realise she’s had an amazing career and she will get better. She is still young. She is going to be around for many years and she has a lot to be proud about.”
Switaek is set to play in the upcoming WTA Tour swing in China and Japan, with the break she is craving unlikely to come until after the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia in November.
