Shelby Rogers hires ex-coach of Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek

American tennis pro Shelby Rogers has welcomed a new addition to her team, adding Iga Swiatek's ex-coach Piotr Sierzputowski to her coaching staff.

Sierzputowski worked with Swiatek for five years before the world No.8 decided to end their partnership. In early December, Swiatek announced her decision to split with Sierzputowski after five years of collaborating. During this period, Sierzputowski helped the Polish star reach and win her first Grand Slam title at the 2020 Roland Garros tournament.

"I’ve started my pre-season, but today I would like to tell you something significant… After more than 5 years I’ve decided to finish my cooperation with my coach Piotr Sierzputowski," Swiatek announced on Saturday.

"This change is really challenging for me and this decision wasn’t easy, either… As tennis players we meet on our path a lot of people who contribute great value into our work and, often, into our life too, because we spend almost the whole year on tour together.

"I found out that sometimes in our professional life we need changes to develop more, evolve and meet other people with whom we’re going to create a cooperation for the next stages of our development."

There seems to be no bad blood between the pair, as Swiatek thanked her ex-coach for all his assistance and guidance.

"I would like to thank you Coach for everything that you did for me.," added Swiatek. "We gave each other so much and I hope that we’ll continue to grow and develop with this experience we’ve gained together. I owe you a lot and truly appreciate the time we’ve spent together. All those years enabled us to be in the place that we are now."

With Sierzputowski now on her team, Rogers is hoping to make some changes to her style of play and improve her subpar 2022 season. The World No.47 is on a three-game losing streak, reaching the quarterfinals in Adelaide I but suffering back-to-back first round exits at Adelaide II and the Australian Open.