Jonathan Jurejko – BBC Sport Tennis News Correspondent
When Swiatek ended his partnership with Wiktorowski, he made it clear that he planned to move on from the Polish team and bring in a head coach “from abroad”.
Fissette, a Belgian who has worked with a variety of top WTA players, fits the bill.
In fact, Swiatek didn’t have many candidates who met his criteria – a Grand Slam-winning coach with a global reputation.
Fissette’s credentials are easy to see. He has guided Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Japan’s Naomi Osaka to major titles, worked with former world Nos. Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka and helped Britain’s Johanna Konta reach the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2017. I helped.
The cool and collected 44-year-old describes himself as a coach who believes in the ‘magic of positive reinforcement’ and creating a team environment by getting ‘in sync’ with players.
This is an attractive and highly beneficial characteristic for Swiatek at this time. Despite her overwhelming success over the past few seasons, she has felt frustrated recently.
He revealed that he cried for ‘six hours’ after losing in the Olympic semifinals, and also broke down in tears after losing in the US Open quarterfinals. She has not competed since for personal reasons and spoke about the impact the “crazy” schedule has on top players.
Interestingly, Swiatek emphasizes that his career is “a marathon, not a sprint.” But Fissette, who has never worked long-term with athletes, is more of a short-term solution that could help reinvigorate a player trying to rediscover his mojo.
