Pam Shriver recently expressed her thoughts on how Iga Swiatek has bounced back from her recent loss, which she feels is reminiscent of Serena Williams (Serena Williams) “Revenge Tour” at different stages of her career.
Shriver, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in her singles career, was recently invited to speak on a variety of topics on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast.
The American was immediately asked to comment on Iga Swiatek’s victory at the Beijing Open last week. In her response, the former player-turned-analyst compared Bol to Serena Williams.
“You think about all the great players who have been at the top for years and they lose a spot or two in the rankings… they tend to react well. You think about how Serena Williams reacts to a loss , ‘Revenge Tour’ “She probably excelled at certain points in her career. I think Iga realized this when he faced Coco,” she said.
Shriver added that Iga Swiatek must be “totally motivated” to beat defending U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff in their last meeting in Beijing after losing in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open in August.
“I mean, Coco obviously made a mistake in that set, but was able to take the lead in Cincinnati. And then Yiga, you know she’s going to go into the next game after losing the game, fully motivated to find someone. The human matter has been resolved,” she said.
Before losing to Goff in Cincinnati, Swiatek had won 14 consecutive sets against the American between May 2021 and June 2023. The Pole still holds a huge 8-1 advantage over the 19-year-old on the WTA Tour in their head-to-head meetings.
“Having more freedom to try to figure out some new issues in the game” – Pam Shriver on Iga Swiatek giving up world No. 1 spot
During the podcast, the 61-year-old also claimed that Iga Swiatek’s loss of her world number one spot might take some of the pressure off of her, allowing her to address issues in her game.
“What I’ve definitely seen from Iga since she lost her world No. 1 ranking is that she describes having more freedom to try to figure out some new problems in her game. Whether it’s going to the net more, or using Her second serve “has a little more authority. So it’s fun to see the best people try and get better,” she added.
Although Swiatek had a good season in 2023, she failed to defend her U.S. Open title in September, which helped Aryna Sabalenka rise to the top of the WTA Tour.
The 22-year-old lost to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round, which caused her to drop 1,760 points in the WTA rankings (2000 – 420 points).
Sabalenka, who lost in the semifinals in New York last year, reached the championship match at the 2023 US Open, thus scoring 520 points (1600-780).
As a result, the Belarusian dwarfs the Polish in the WTA rankings, currently sitting at 9,480 points.
Swiatek’s ranking points total is 8,890. The four-time Grand Slam winner will be keen to regain the No. 1 spot as soon as possible.