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
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
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
It has, though, largely been a difficult last 18 months for Swiatek<\/a> by the lofty standards she has set, with her Wimbledon triumph last year the major high point during this period.<\/p>\n Swiatek is currently eighth in the WTA Rankings after her Wimbledon title defence ended with a third round loss to Alex Eala<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n Cibulkova, a former world No 4, assessed that Swiatek has been \u201closing against herself\u201d in an exclusive interview with Tennis365,<\/p>\n \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 WTA Tour News<\/p>\n Exclusive: Agnieszka Radwanska tells Iga Swiatek \u2018the problem\u2019 she must solve to get back to her best<\/a><\/p>\n WTA Finals Race to Indian Wells: Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff in danger, outsider Alex Eala, Mirra Andreeva in pole<\/a><\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n \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 \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 Swiatek finished 2022 and 2023 as the world No 1, but her most recent week in top spot was in October 2024, with Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> occupying the position ever since.<\/p>\n 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 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 Cibulkova praised the current world No 1\u2019s powerful game, but made it clear that Swiatek is her \u201cfavourite\u201d player.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Sabalenka is strong,\u201d said Cibulkova.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I look from my perspective\u2026 I played against her when I was finishing my career, and she\u2019s a powerhouse.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s a great player, but my favourite is Swiatek.\u201d<\/p>\n During a stellar career, Cibulkova won eight 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