{"id":2058793,"date":"2026-07-23T19:45:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2058793"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:45:06","slug":"iga-swiatek-is-my-favourite-player-and-she-can-get-back-to-world-no-1-says-ex-wta-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2058793","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Iga Swiatek is my favourite player &#8211; and she can get back to world No 1&#8217;, says ex-WTA star"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">\u2018Iga Swiatek is my favourite player \u2013 and she can get back to world No 1\u2019, says ex-WTA star<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"23 Jul 2026 8:45 PM\" data-ps-date=\"23 Jul 2026 8:45 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1784835906\"><br \/>\n                            23 Jul 2026 8:45 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" 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           <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"\u2018Iga Swiatek is my favourite player \u2013 and she can get back to world No 1\u2019, says ex-WTA star\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Iga-Swiatek-Dominika-Cibulkova-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Iga Swiatek and Dominika Cibulkova\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Dominika Cibulkova speaks to Tennis365 about Iga Swiatek                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Former WTA star Dominika Cibulkova has told Tennis365 Iga Swiatek can return to world No 1 as she expressed her admiration for the Polish great.<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek is the most successful player of her generation, having won 25 WTA Tour titles, including six Grand Slams: four Roland Garros titles, one US Open title and one Wimbledon title.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old has spent 125 weeks as the world No 1 across two separate stints \u2014 the first of which lasted 75 weeks from April 2022 to September 2023.<\/p>\n<p>It has, though, largely been a difficult last 18 months for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/iga-swiatek\">Swiatek<\/a> by the lofty standards she has set, with her Wimbledon triumph last year the major high point during this period.<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek is currently eighth in the WTA Rankings after her Wimbledon title defence ended with a third round loss to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alex-eala\">Alex Eala<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>Cibulkova, a former world No 4, assessed that Swiatek has been \u201closing against herself\u201d in an exclusive interview with Tennis365,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am cheering for Iga Swiatek. I think the matches when she\u2019s losing, she\u2019s losing against herself,\u201d said the Slovak.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/iga-swiatek-problem-agnieszka-radwanska-exclusive-interview\"><strong>Exclusive: Agnieszka Radwanska tells Iga Swiatek \u2018the problem\u2019 she must solve to get back to her best<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/wta-finals-race-indian-wells-iga-swiatek-coco-gauff-danger-outsider-alex-eala-mirra-andreeva-pole\"><strong>WTA Finals Race to Indian Wells: Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff in danger, outsider Alex Eala, Mirra Andreeva in pole<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, I think when she\u2019s there mentally, and when she\u2019s ready, and when she\u2019s tough and strong, there are not many players that can beat her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about confidence. Of course, you have to train hard and practise a lot, but yes, the confidence\u2026 if you are not in the right mood, you can lose the confidence by one match.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swiatek finished 2022 and 2023 as the world No 1, but her most recent week in top spot was in October 2024, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/aryna-sabalenka\">Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> occupying the position ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if Swiatek can get back to the top of the rankings, Cibulkova replied: \u201cI think, for sure, she can get back to No 1. I\u2019m pretty sure that she can get back there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before she retired in 2019, Cibulkova faced Sabalenka twice \u2014 at the 2018 Wuhan Open and the 2019 French Open \u2014 and she lost both matches to the Belarusian star.<\/p>\n<p>Cibulkova praised the current world No 1\u2019s powerful game, but made it clear that Swiatek is her \u201cfavourite\u201d player.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, Sabalenka is strong,\u201d said Cibulkova.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I look from my perspective\u2026 I played against her when I was finishing my career, and she\u2019s a powerhouse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s a great player, but my favourite is Swiatek.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During a stellar career, Cibulkova won eight <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\">WTA Tour<\/a> titles \u2014 the biggest of which came at the 2016 WTA Finals. She was also a runner-up to Li Na at the 2014 Australian Open.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/emma-raducanu-ranking-grand-slam-statement-rick-macci-exclusive-interview\">Exclusive: Can Emma Raducanu contend for Grand Slams again? Legendary coach makes strong statement<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Iga Swiatek is my favourite player \u2013 and she can get back to world No 1\u2019, says ex-WTA star Ewan West 23 Jul 2026 8:45 PM Dominika Cibulkova speaks to Tennis365 about Iga Swiatek Former WTA star Dominika Cibulkova has told Tennis365 Iga Swiatek can return to world No 1 as she expressed her admiration [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2058793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2058793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058793\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2058793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2058793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2058793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}