Exclusive: Iga Swiatek still has to convince herself she is the boss of women’s tennis in 2023 says Justine Henin

Justine Henin believes Iga Swiatek still needs to “convince herself” that she is the new leader of women’s tennis heading into 2023.

Swiatek was the dominant player in 2022, taking over as world No. 1 after Ashleigh Barty retired and reeling off a 37-match winning streak.

She won two Grand Slam titles at the French Open and US Open, along with six other titles, and finished the year well clear of any of her rivals at the top of the rankings.

However, former world No. 1 Henin believes there is still room for improvement as Swiatek looks to win the Australian Open for the first time.

“There is a whole technical dimension,” Henin told Eurosport’s Arnold Montgault.

“She has a somewhat unusual technique. She has also been able to draw strength from that. You can see her arm speed and she has a lot of qualities. She’s a player who moves very well on a fast surface, as she did at the US Open, but this is also linked to a lot of technical aspects in her game.

“Will she still be able to develop certain things without affecting the qualities she has already developed? That’s what she needs to think about, along with her team.

“I think she has the makings of a world No. 1 and maybe a new boss. But she has to convince herself of that, and at the same time, doubt also accompanies the greatest champions. Maybe that’s why she is a great champion who is being born.

“But in any case, on this emotional management, I think that there is still a great margin for progression: on her game on fast surfaces, it will still remain a question this year [even if she crossed an undeniable threshold last year].”

She said afterwards that she was upset because she “felt kind of helpless” in the match against the world No. 3.

Henin does not think too much should be read into the contest, even though Swiatek, who has pulled out of this week’s Adelaide International, only managed to win four games in a one-sided result.

“Maybe she had small physical issues. We are at the beginning of the season, so I think we should not analyse things too quickly.

“Pegula is a player who, I think, is progressing a lot. I find her very interesting because she has a real sense for the game. She never hits a free shot.

“She built her way to the highest level. She will have to be better in the major events. In the preparatory tournaments, it’s good; everyone wants to shine of course, but to be present in the big tournaments, and especially in the Grand Slams, that’s where you have to be able to make the difference in the quarters, semis and in the Grand Slam finals.

“That’s a stage Pegula hasn’t been able to reach, but she’s still a very, very good young player who, in my opinion, is developing more and more.

“This loss for Iga is not a huge surprise, and at the same time, she is a perfectionist. She wants to make it, to give her best right away. And that’s where with experience, she will learn that you grow into your form as you approach a Grand Slam. But it’s true that at the beginning of the season, there is very little time for that.”

Pegula lost all four matches against Swiatek last year while world No. 2 Ons Jabeur was beaten by Swiatek in both of their meetings.

Henin is hopeful that in the future there will be stronger rivalries on the WTA Tour, saying they are needed to make the sport more compelling.

“Competition is healthy. I think the circuit really needs to have a player who is the boss because it’s important to have a point of reference. I think the women’s circuit has lacked for many years a point of reference, even though we have seen players at times really shine.

“In 2022, Iga Swiatek was absolutely brilliant, she backed it up on hard court even if it wasn’t easy at the US Open. But we have talked about Novak Djokovic before and his hunger to win, to prove things. That’s what’s missing on the women’s circuit because there are so many opportunities.

“You hear players say ‘Oh, but now we know we can play badly for a week, several weeks, and then come out on top’, as Elena Rybakina did at Wimbledon last year. So it’s very, very difficult to read the women’s tour.

“There is a very, very good level of play. We saw some great matches last year, but I would like to see a simpler, clearer reading of the game because the general public needs it and the popularity of women’s tennis is at stake again.

“If we have very good players on certain points, I would really like this competition to wake up a little and that it brings us real rivalries. It’s true that we’ve been hearing this for several years.”

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