Iga Swiatek saw her dominant run at Roland Garros come to an end this year.
Swiatek lost to Aryna Sabalenka in her semi-final, bringing an end to her 26-match winning streak at the Paris major.
As a result of her latest defeat, Swiatek has fallen to her lowest ranking since February 2022.
This has continued a difficult run of form for Swiatek, who has not reached a final in over a year now.
Jimmy Connors has advice for Iga Swiatek over what she needs to do next
Swiatek has been in five semi-finals this year and is currently fourth in the race to the WTA Finals, but she has been unable to reach the championship match since Roland Garros in 2024.
When discussing the five-time Grand Slam champion’s fall down the ranks, former world number one Jimmy Connors spoke about the internal monologue that is likely to be going through Swiatek’s head.
Connors then advised Swiatek to go back to basics, as she looks to compete with rivals Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.
“You’re going to see what kind of mettle she has now,” he said on his Advantage Connors Podcast. “When you are on top and you are rolling and things are coming easy to you, things kind of fall in line.
“When you are struggling and have not made a final for a year you need to figure out what you need to do. What do I need to do to beat Coco? What do I need to do to beat Sabalenka? What do I need to do to beat [Madison] Keys?
Then your mind should be working and your game should be working in a direction of what do I need to do to add to that.
“I got to the number one in the world for a reason, now I’m not, what have I got to do to get that back.
Sometimes it’s not the same thing because players get on to your game and understand how to play you and then self doubt might start creeping not just into her game but herself. Like what has happened to me, what have I got to do, I can’t do what I used to do?
“Well, why not? Sometimes it’s good to go back to the drawing board and get back not only to the basics. It’s like Pancho [Segura] would do to me. He would always give me something else to work towards and try and get better at.
“It doesn’t have to be a big thing because she has already been the best, she has been number one and won Grand Slams, but what is it going to take to get her back to that position? She was just in a great position in the semis of Roland Garros so obviously she hasn’t fallen off that far.
“She needs to not listen to anybody now. The outside criticism and voices who think they know. She has got to stay in herself and her team and work this out.”