Although 2024 was not the best year for Iga Świątek, she still had a really good season. The tennis player won the third Roland Garros tournament in a row, and also won a medal at the Olympic Games. Performances at other Grand Slam tournaments were disappointing. On Australian Open and Wimbledon, Iga Świątek only reached the third round. IN US Open it was a little better – she was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
No one expected such words from Fissette. Iga the best ever?
In October, Iga Świątek started working with Wim Fissett. The Belgian has previously worked with the best tennis players in the world. In 2020-2022 and 2023-2024 he was Naomi Osaka's coach. The Japanese team was led by, among others, at this year's Roland Garros. Her match with Iga Świątek in the 2nd round of this tournament was a display of incredible perseverance by the Polish player. Osaka was already winning 5-2, 30-0 in the third set, only to finally lose it 5-7 and eliminated from the tournament.
– It was very close. Match ball for Naomi w match with Iga. It was one of the best matches in women's tennis this season. There was a great atmosphere, both girls played very well, especially Naomi. It was her best game in a year. I was very happy because we didn't have good experience on clay and I always believed that Naomi could be very good on this surface and I finally saw it in this match. She played phenomenally – recalls Iga Świątek's coach in the second episode of the second season of the Canal+ reportage “Iga's Four Seasons”.
At the same time, he notes that Naomi did not take advantage of the opportunity and paid a heavy price for it, but he was still satisfied with his competitor's attitude. Especially since – as he said – she was competing with the best clay player in history.
– I really liked this match and of course a victory would feel special. However, tennis is tennis. Even if you lead 5-2, you have to play until the last point. During my career, I have seen both sides of this situation, so I am realistic, but it was a big disappointment because we had a chance to beat the best tennis player in history – he added.
This is how Iga Świątek compares to the best in history. Is it any better?
This clearly surprised the Canal+ journalist. – In history? – he asked. – Yes, and why not? Who else? Fissette asked. Then a board appears, reminding us that of Iga Świątek's 22 titles, she won as many as 10 on clay courts.
Was anyone better than Iga? Well, the name that immediately comes to mind is Chris Evert. The American won Roland Garros seven times and is also the women's record holder tennis when it comes to the number of victories on clay courts – she achieved as many as 382, with only 22 defeats! Steffi Graf, another tennis legend, won Roland Garros six times. Evert and Graf are the only players who have won at least 100 matches on clay and have a higher winning rate – 94.55 and 88.57 percent – than Iga Świątek (88.39 percent).
In the 21st century, Justine Henin left her mark on clay courts. Fissette's compatriot won Roland Garros four times – the same number as Iga Świątek so far. Henin's record on clay is 163 victories and 29 defeats (win rate – 84.89 percent). For comparison, Iga Świątek has so far won 139 matches on this surface and lost 18.