Two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja has warned the women’s
world number one
Iga Swiatek will find it hard to dominate the sport in the
near future.
The 22-year-old is currently regarded as the best player in
the women’s singles category and ended the season in 2023 as the highest-ranked
player. Corretja was recently quoted in a report where he warned Swiatek that
the going will get tougher in the near future.
“Swiatek she’s learning so much. I think she’s going in the
right direction. She’s not just thinking about winning in the short term,” he
said. “She’s trying to improve different things, in my opinion. She’s hitting
the ball harder, especially on the forehand side. Her surface game also been
improving quite a lot.
“She needs to be able to be a contender against players that
hit very hard. And she needs to be very aware about that. She’s very low on her
legs and that’s why she’s also moving very well, probably the best mover on
tour.
“And I think she knows now that she needs to be also very
aggressive because everybody’s trying to dictate, but at the same time she’s
trying to be very stable. So I think she’s going to be great in 2024 and I see
her even more mature. So I’m sure that she’s going to win a Slam again.
“I think it’s getting tougher and tougher because some other
girls, they’ve been winning Slams. Let’s remember about Coco Gauff winning the
US Open. For her, it was a big breakthrough and I’m sure in 2024, she’ll be
even more experienced, even though she’s very young.
“But the fact that Sabalenka already won a Slam, Rybakina as
well – those players will be thinking that they can do it again. Maybe on clay
[Swiatek] will still be the main favourite, but on other surfaces she will be
just one of the favourites. But still, I think she’s going to be dominating.
“For her, it was so important to finish the year winning the
WTA finals because she gained back her confidence. You can go work hard with
confidence and then you start the new season knowing that you are the one
dictating. And this is, in my opinion, very important for her.”