"It was a good time for a next step" says Iga Swiatek on decision to change coaches

World No. 9 Iga Swiatek is back in familiar surroundings as defending champion in Adelaide this week, but she's still getting used to her new team.

Swiatek brought on a new coach, Tomasz Witkorowski, during the off-season. The 20-year-old from Poland had previously been coached by Piotr Sierzputowski, who had worked with her since she turned professional and helped her win the 2020 French Open. On that change she said:

"For a week I really had my doubts. A lot happened since we started. I felt it's a good time for a next step and a change to maybe, like, reset a little bit. But I'm pretty happy that Tomasz was free at the moment because, yeah, I also feel like I wanted to work with someone who's from Poland."

Swiatek is not showing any regrets about changing coaches further adding:

"I think it's a great decision for me. Right now we're getting to know each other because we practiced in Poland for three weeks, so it's not a lot. For sure in tournaments it's a little bit different because we have different factors coming in and stress and stuff. I think next few tournaments I'm just going to use for getting to know each other. We're talking a lot about tennis, even off-court stuff. I feel like I just need some time to build that relationship."

The No. 5 seed, Swiatek began her title defense Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over home favorite Daria Saville after 79 minutes. Awaiting her in the second round is 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.