Iga Swiatek has been complimentary of Wim Fissette since she began working with Naomi Osaka’s former coach, but there appeared to be a frosty moment between the pair at the 2025 Dubai Championships.
After their first tournament together at the 2024 WTA Finals, Swiatek looked to be thriving under Fissette in January. She helped Team Poland reach the 2025 United Cup final before easily winning her first five 2025 Australian Open matches.
The five-time Grand Slam winner’s form to reach the Australian Open semifinals means it is surprising she has not reached a final since the United Cup with Team Poland. That includes semifinal losses in Melbourne to Madison Keys and at the 2025 Qatar Open to Jelena Ostapenko.
Mirra Andreeva’s defeat of Swiatek in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Championships was the Pole’s latest setback. The world No. 2 was outplayed from start to finish by the teenager, who put in an outstanding performance.
Swiatek, like many great champions, sometimes does not take defeats well. However, the footage of her seemingly ignoring Fissette after the match looked deliberate and was a surprising act from her.
The brief video of the moment can be watched below. Swiatek was walking out with her bags when Fissette put his hand out for a high-five, but his player did not acknowledge the Belgian and kept walking.
That incident might not be anything serious. Swiatek may have just been communicating her disappointment after losing to Andreeva and did not think it was the right moment for a high-five.
Whether the four-time French Open champion was disappointed with a particular aspect of Fissette’s coaching in Dubai or throughout the Middle Eastern swing more broadly is unknown and something the Pole probably will not address publicly.
Objectively, Swiatek’s results in the Middle East were worse than in 2024. She had won the previous three iterations of the Qatar Open until losing in the semifinal to Ostapenko and was a semifinalist last year in Dubai, one round better than this year.
Swiatek’s comments after the defeat to Andreeva might indicate that she is angrier with the tennis calendar than Fissette. The 23-year-old claimed that the packed calendar gives all players a chance of winning.
Although some might feel Swiatek is searching for excuses after being beaten by a better player on the day, she has been consistent in her views about the calendar, routinely criticizing it for being too long and packed last year.
Many other players share Swiatek’s opinion about the schedule. For instance, Carlos Alcaraz wondered whether organizers were trying to kill the players by making the season so long and intense.
However, Alcaraz has been accused of being a hypocrite. While Swiatek rarely plays in exhibitions, the Spaniard appeared in two of them against Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe at Madison Square Garden and in Charlottesville.
Some question why Alcaraz traveled for lucrative exhibitions if he cares so deeply about not getting enough rest time. Taylor Fritz defended the 21-year-old and thinks exhibitions should not be compared to ATP tournaments.
