Iga Swiatek defends psychologist after controversy over banned substance.

Iga Swiatek returned to SW19 determined to prove that resilience can overcome even the fiercest storms. A year after humiliating Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final with an impressive 6-0, 6-0 victory in just 57 minutes, the Polish player comes back as the defending champion, the third seed, and, above all, as someone who had to rebuild her relationship with tennis after one of the most traumatic episodes of her career.

In the lead-up to the 2026 Wimbledon, Swiatek spoke openly to The Times about the scandal that nearly derailed her career and staunchly defended psychologist Daria Abramowicz, a central figure in her success and the target of intense media scrutiny. The lowest point came at the end of 2024 when Swiatek was informed that she had tested positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition test. At the time, she was leading the world rankings and had just won her fourth Roland Garros, but she was suspended for a month due to a contaminated melatonin supplement. Those weeks were a true hell, during which Abramowicz became the fundamental pillar of her support.

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“That was a terrible situation, completely out of my control. I was shocked and devastated, and it completely changed my perspective on tennis for a few weeks. I struggled even to step on the court and hit some balls because I felt I needed to fight for the truth, for justice, and even for my honor, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. For a while, I couldn’t even play. Basically, I cried for weeks, constantly thinking about how this had happened to me. It was one of those moments when I needed support, which you only get when you have someone on the team who understands you,” Swiatek confessed in the interview.

The constant presence of Abramowicz, who has been accompanying her since 2019 and attends nearly all her matches, has been a source of growing criticism, especially after the split with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski at the end of 2024. Polish commentators and analysts have accused the psychologist of wielding too much influence and making the work environment more difficult for the coaches. A scene from the Netflix series, Break Point, in which Abramowicz commented on Swiatek’s haircut, was distorted by many viewers, who saw it as a sign of an excessively close relationship—something Iga quickly denied, emphasizing that it was merely sarcasm and that the situation was taken out of context. Swiatek left no doubt: “People on social media like to give their opinions, but they don’t know how we work, what kind of support I need, and how vital it is to have people I can trust. I would have been a completely different person at that time. I was super insecure, I didn’t have the emotional or cognitive skills to play tennis at the level that was required, so she helped me grow as a player.”

But this was not the only time Swiatek nearly succumbed to pressure. She recalled her reaction to winning her first title at Roland Garros in 2020 and the overwhelming impact of early fame: “We think that winning is like a dream come true, but there are so many things that change in a young person’s life – business, money, the way people treat us, paparazzi at the door. I had great difficulty focusing on tennis for weeks, or even months, after my first Roland Garros.”

The key to her triumph at Wimbledon 2025, according to Swiatek, was the absence of expectations: “The only thing I need to do is focus on performing my job to the best of my ability, day by day. Last year, this tournament was so special because I had no big expectations,” she explained. At that time, Swiatek was not the favorite, but she emerged as champion, not dropping a single game in the final.

Now, the big question is whether she will be able to repeat the magic formula this year, bearing the weight of being the third seed and the status of a target to be taken down. Swiatek’s response was to invest in a new technical dynamic: she teamed up with Francisco Roig, former coach of Rafael Nadal, who recently ended his association with Emma Raducanu. “The last few years have been intense, and I feel I need to give myself time to even lose some tournaments, but to be in a process that moves me forward in the future,” Swiatek stated, emphasizing the privilege of having trained under Nadal’s watchful eye at the Spanish academy in Mallorca in April. “It was a huge privilege, especially after the tough tournaments in the US, because I felt joy again being on the court and remembered what made me fall in love with tennis as a child when I watched Rafa. He is a role model, and having him there was a very positive stimulus,” she added.

Swiatek arrives at Wimbledon 2026 with a modest performance at Roland Garros (eliminated in the round of 16) and a record of 21 wins and 11 losses for the season. She has not won a title since the iconic silver platter at the All England Club last July. The title defense comes after a surprising elimination against Emma Navarro in her opening match at Bad Homburg, and the realization that she can no longer replicate the winning streaks of the past: “I understand that I cannot repeat what I did a few years ago, with incredible streaks of matches or consecutive titles. Tennis is changing, I am changing. I am a different person and sometimes it is necessary to find new solutions.”

Swiatek’s immediate future will depend on Roig’s ability and Abramowicz’s composure, now more than ever in the spotlight, to guide her in an environment where every mistake can be fatal to her ambitions. With the title at risk and a media storm lurking, only the next two weeks will tell if the Polish champion can continue to rewrite history at Wimbledon — or if she will finally succumb to the pressure of a sport that has often proven to be relentless.

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