Jonathan Jurejko – BBC Sport tennis news reporter
When Swiatek ended her partnership with Wiktorowski, she made clear she was planning to move away from an all-Polish team and recruit a leading coach “from abroad”.
Fissette, a Belgian who has worked with a wide pool of top WTA players, fitted the bill.
In truth, there was not a vast range of candidates which fulfilled the criteria – namely Grand Slam-winning coaches with a global reputation – Swiatek demanded.
Fissette’s credentials are plain to see. He has guided fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Japan’s Naomi Osaka to major titles, also working with former world number ones Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka, while helping Britain’s Johanna Konta reach the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2017.
The cool and composed 44-year-old describes himself as a coach who believes in “the magic of positive reinforcement” and “getting in sync” with a player to create a team environment.
Those are qualities which would be attractive – and prove very beneficial – to Swiatek right now. Despite her dominant success over the past few seasons, she has cut a frustrated figure recently.
After losing in the Olympics semi-finals, she said she cried for “six hours” and was also overcome with emotion after losing in the US Open quarter-finals. She has not played since because of personal reasons, having spoken out about the effects of “crazy” scheduling on the top players.
Interestingly, Swiatek stresses her career is “a marathon not a sprint”. However, Fissette – who has never been one for long collaborations with his players – does seem more of a short-term fix who could help revitalise a player looking to rediscover her mojo.
