Olgierd Kwiatkowski, sport.interia.pl: After Iga Świątek’s victory last year in the US Open, you jokingly wrote on your social media profile that you feel a bit like the grandfather of this success, because you were the one who raised Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Paweł Kalinowski, Tomasz Wiktorowski’s tennis coach for many years: It was, of course, a joke that Tomek also liked. He was my player, whom I practically raised in tennis, and in his general development, Mr. Tadeusz Paprocki (member of the athletics Wunderteam, long-time trainer of the national javelin team – note: ok). Mr. Adam Królak went to camps with us and passed on theoretical knowledge. It was this set of people who influenced Tomek and his tennis development as a player, instructor, coordinator, and then coach.
When did you first meet the best tennis coach of 2023 in the world?
– In September 1990, he was nine years old. His father brought him to training. He was a tall boy, he was not yet 195 cm, because he reached his current height only at the age of 15, but he stood above his peers by a head. He started training in our tennis club, unfortunately no longer in existence, RKS Okęcie at Radarowa 1 in Warsaw’s Ochota district.
He didn’t like being weaker in anything to anyone. He was difficult at it, but it showed that he had great ambitions. He liked learning. In breaks between training, I studied English with him. He was never late for training, it’s a small thing, but it proves that he was professional even as a child.
Did he look like a good tennis player? He had good physical conditions, and today we know that he also reads the game very well.
– He came to training a little late. In tennis, if you want to achieve success at the professional level, you start playing much earlier, at the age of 4-7. At least that’s how it is today. Back then, I didn’t know what the players’ prospects were and what they should strive for. I don’t think Tomek and his parents knew it either. Anyway, at first he was a little overweight, but then he gained weight and became slimmer. He was very strong, and the physical preparation coach in our club, Tadeusz Paprocki, said that he would be perfect for throwing competitions in athletics.
However, I also remembered him as a great football talent. Once, during a summer camp, the Okęcie tennis section played with peers from the Okęcie football section. Tomek played the stopwatch. We won 2-0. After returning to Warsaw, we asked the club if they really conducted football training in this football section.
Tomasz Wiktorowski (first from the left at the top)/Facebook/RKS Okęcie/private archive
How did Tomasz Wiktorowski’s tennis career develop?
– He trained four times a week in a group of four. So little, because he commuted to training from Żoliborz. Thanks to his systematic approach, common sense and strength, he was a difficult opponent. First, he played in regional tournaments, and from the age of 14 he started traveling around Poland, but since he did not train individually, he was behind his peers on a national scale. In the under-16 category, he won two medals at the Polish Indoor Doubles Championships.
Since high school, he trained three times a week because he also played basketball in school competitions. Back then, these were the times of great popularity of the NBA. And thanks to his height, he excelled under baskets. He was really good. Then he gave up tennis for a while.
Did he reveal any predispositions to become a coach? How did he come to be one?
– He didn’t like being weaker in anything to anyone. He was difficult at it, but it showed that he had great ambitions. He liked learning. In breaks between training, I studied English with him. He was never late for training, it’s a small thing, but it proves that he was professional even as a child. Our club was rather a neighborhood club, we did not provide entry into professional tennis, because it required a lot of money. Tomek graduated from high school and then went to college. I introduced a rule that I wanted to turn students into instructors. Tomek was one of the first. I immediately entrusted him with the position of coordinator, and he was only 20 years old at the time. And he did it brilliantly, even though this job required exceptional organizational skills.
It looks indestructible. He builds the master’s model very well. This is not an accident, it is planned. Our mentor and the doyen of Polish coaches, the aforementioned Adam Królak, once told us about this. I am very impressed by the use of tennis skills by a player as skilled as Iga Świątek. The staff is constantly adding new elements. Thanks to this, we have a tennis champion.
– At the Warsaw University of Technology, he studied at the Faculty of Automotive and Construction Machinery, just like his father. He studied very well, even as a full-time student. He had a grade point average of over 4.0 and at the same time he conducted classes with children and teenagers at my club for 30 hours a week. He received, among others: a group of very talented girls who were at the forefront in Poland. In addition, he was a sparring partner of our best player – Marcin Maszczyk. The multitude of activities that he was able to combine proves that he was a well-organized man in life and work. This is clearly visible today when it has been functioning so well in the world of professional tennis for years.
Is his polytechnic knowledge very useful in his work as a trainer?
– Biomechanics for sure, but also the ability to focus on work and analysis.
Tomasz Wiktorowski as captain of the Polish national team in the Fed Cup. From the left: Agnieszka Radwańska, Urszula Radwańska, Tomasz Wiktorowski, Alicja Rosolska and Katarzyna Piter/Kurt Desplenter/AFP
Tomasz Wiktorowski finally left RKS Okęcie and what was his fate afterwards?
– He continued to look for his path of development. He worked with a very good player – Karolina Kosińska, first as a sparring partner. Then he was offered a job in the Polish national team, which included, among others: Agnieszka and Urszula Radwańska. He gained great respect from them. This resulted in Agnieszka Radwańska inviting him to cooperate. We know well the further path of his career and the successes he achieved.
What impresses you about Tomasz Wiktorowski as Iga Świątek’s coach?
– Consistency at work and emotional stability. It looks indestructible. He builds the master’s model very well. This is not an accident, it is planned. Our mentor and the doyen of Polish coaches, the aforementioned Adam Królak, once told us about this. I am very impressed by the use of tennis skills by a player as skilled as Iga Świątek. The staff is constantly adding new elements. Thanks to this, we have a tennis champion.
Interviewed by Olgierd Kwiatkowski
Tomasz Wiktorowski and Iga Świątek/Matthew Stockman/AFP
Maciej Ryszczuk (left) and Tomasz Wiktorowski/Wojciech Kubik/East News
Aryna Sabalenka – Iga Świątek 0-2. Game highlights. VIDEO/Associated Press/© 2023 Associated Press
2023-12-12 05:10:00
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