"Coaches need to focus on no more excuses": Rick Macci comes to Iga Swiatek's rescue amid criticism from Brad Gilbert for Cincinnati Open schedule

Iga Swiatek has showcased her class by returning to form in a phase where, historically, she has had a mixed record. The 24-year-old went through a lean patch of more than 12 months after winning the French Open in 2024. In that patch, Swiatek did not manage to win a single title.

That unexpected streak for the former world number one broke in a very expected competition as well. Swiatek, against all odds, lifted the Wimbledon title in July to break that losing streak. She outclassed America’s Amanda Anisimova in the final and became the first player in more than 100 years to win a Wimbledon title without losing a single game in the final. That win was a surprising one because prior to this year, Swiatek had never managed to qualify for the semifinal of the event.

Swiatek continued her good form at the ongoing Cincinnati Open, where she cemented her spot in the semifinal after beating Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Right after the match, Swiatek explained how she managed to cope with the challenging conditions. She also conceded that athletes should mentally prepare for weather conditions to become worse every year. “There’s no secret, I just drink, but water,” said Swiatek while talking to the media after the match. “Well, honestly, I think we kind of need to get used to it with how the world is changing and it’s gonna be worse and worse I guess.”

Swiatek’s next opponent will be Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. The former Wimbledon champion defeated the reigning world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, in the quarterfinal in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Swiatek’s most matches in the ongoing Cincinnati Open were played early in the morning. Unsurprisingly, that streak will continue when she faces Rybakina in the semifinal that will be played at 11 AM.

Such consistency of matches for a player at a similar time left famous tennis coach Brad Gilbert curious. The 64-year-old, who coached the former world number one Serena Williams as well, in a post on his X account, questioned whether it is a coincidence that Swiatek’s all matches are played at around 11 AM in Cincinnati or whether it is something asked by her coaching staff. “You don’t even have to look at schedule and Know Iga Pop on 1st at 11 AM wonder if her team ask for that or just happens that way a lot,” he wrote.

In response to that, the former coach of Emma Raducanu, Rick Macci, defended Swiatek by stating that she is not making the schedule and her focus is to play the match. “Iga did not make the draw or who she played at Wimbledon,” he wrote. “She did not make the schedule of playing times in Cincinnati. Coaches need to focus on no more excuses and training instead of chirping and complaining. @WTA.”

Talking about her own performance in the quarterfinal, Swiatek stated that she focused on playing her ‘game’ against a tough opponent. “Just played my game,” said Swiatek. “For sure, it wasn’t easy. Just happy I was solid and had the intensity to apply pressure.”

It will be the 10th meeting between the two players in professional tennis. In the previous nine meetings, Swiatek had a slight advantage as she won on five occasions. Rybakina, on the other hand, will be coming into the match full of confidence as she produced arguably her best performance this year, against a top opponent in Sabalenka. Talking after the match, Rybakina stated that she is happy with her performance against a three-time Grand Slam winner, in particular with her serve.

“Well, I’m happy with the serve, definitely,” said Rybakina. “I think it was a key today because we’re both big hitters and from the serve, it was depending a lot, and I think today I served really well and of course, if Aryna serves well, then it’s also completely different. But today I felt like I served well and I was always having an advantage, so it helped to close out the match too, and yeah, I think overall from the baseline it was pretty good intensity, so hopefully I will continue like this. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming and supporting us. I’m really happy to be in the semis. It was a tough match and I played really well today, so I hope I can continue like this in my next one.”